'Big Bounce' more like 'Big Suck'

Oftentimes Elmore Leonard novels make smooth transitions to film (i.e. "Jackie Brown" and "Out of Sight"). Sadly, this is not the case with The Big Bounce -- not even a great cast that includes Gary Sinise, Charlie Sheen and Willie Nelson can save this dreck. \nWe start out in Hawaii with our hero, petty thief Jack Ryan (Owen Wilson), who works a construction job under notorious land mogul, Ray Ritchie (Sinise). That is, until, he whacks his foreman (former footballer Vinnie Jones) in the head with a baseball bat. Afterward, he is nearly forced from the island, when Judge Walter Crewes (Morgan Freeman) intervenes, giving him a job working at his small resort, which is to be overtaken by Ritchie's up-and-coming mega-hotel. \nEnter the beautiful Nancy Hayes (Sara Foster), who just happens to be Ritchie's mistress. Jack soon wins her over, and the two spend a majority of their time together pointlessly breaking into peoples' houses and stealing cars. Then comes the big plan: Nancy tells Jack about Ritchie's $200,000 payoff fund, which they intend to steal. A web of surprises ensue in which previously unknown connections are revealed and it is difficult to know who is screwing whom. To top it off, the ending resolves nothing. \nThere are a few upsides to the film. Owen Wilson's performance, though not nearly as humorous as his previous work with Wes Anderson, is good nonetheless. He adds some spice to otherwise blah lines and his laidback demeanor is a nice contrast to the traditional "badass" criminals that are common to this genre. Furthermore, it takes place in Hawaii so there are striking ocean views and awesome shots of surfers doing their thing on humongous waves. \nAnd of course, I cannot overlook newcomer Foster. Her performance is nothing special, but sitting through the movie was almost worth it if only to see her. But then I remembered I was watching a PG-13 movie, so the most I got to see was her naked silhouette as she ran to the ocean. Beyond her beauty, I did not know what to make of her character. She seemed to have a secret alliance with everyone and it was hard to figure out who she was trying to screw -- literally. \nOverall, The Big Bounce suffered from lack of a good script. The characters had no motivation, the plot had more holes than a donut shop, the twists and connections were left unexplained and while it tried to be funny, I laughed out loud maybe twice. This movie may cause some to question Wilson's ability as a leading man, which is unfortunate because he's a great comedic actor.