The Big White (2005)

	Director: Mark Mylod	COUNTRY Germany/Canada/ New Zealand/USA GENRE Comedy/Drama NORWEGIAN TITLE The Big White RUNNING TIME 100 minutes
	Producer: Christopher Eberts David Faigenblum Chris Roberts
	Screenwriter: Collin Friesen

Cast includes:
CHARACTER	ACTOR/ACTRESS	RATING
Paul Barnell	Robin Williams	½
Margaret Barnell	Holly Hunter
Ted	Giovani Ribisi	½
Gary	Tim Blake Nelson	½
Jimbo	W. Earl Brown
Raymond Barnell	Woody Harrelson	½
Tiffany	Allison Lohman	½

Review

Most people compare The Big White to Fargo, and although that might seem a bit too obvious comparison, there really isn't much reason not to. Not only does the film bear a striking resemblance visually (for a Norwegian like myself, the scene in these films might be a little less eccentrically amusing than intended), but the plot is also very much modelled after the Coen semi-classic.

There are differences, however, and they can be easily summed up: The Big White lacks the flair and originality of its role model. This is particularly evident (and annoying) regarding the characters, who very rarely display anything beyond the strictly one-dimensional. The exception is the wonderful Holly Hunter, who largely keeps the film watchable. Not that her character is free of banality (her condition is mainly used for simple comic relief), but Hunter at least brings joyfulness and delight to her role. She is funny even when the script cannot provide for her – something most of the other actors here cannot manage, and you can't really blame them. Robin Williams' effort is commendable, but his character is ultimately uninteresting. Still worse is the case with Ribisi, Harrelson, and Lohman. The first two sleepwalk through their typecast roles, whereas Lohman tries hard without succeeding.

Things aren't all bad with The Big White. It has some nice touches, and the crime plot is as engaging as anything mediocre. The trouble is that the film never comes close to hitting a note that hasn't been played a hundred times before. To make a script like this work, we'd need a much more imaginative director than Mark Mylod.