# Big Kahuna, The (1999)

### reviewed by
Shannon Patrick Sullivan

    THE BIG KAHUNA (1999) / *** 1/2

Directed by John Swanbeck. Screenplay by Roger Rueff, based on his play "Hospitality Suite". Starring Kevin Spacey, Danny DeVito, Peter Facinelli. Running time: 91 minutes. Rated AA for offensive language by the MFCB. Reviewed on August 2nd, 2000.

    By SHANNON PATRICK SULLIVAN

"The Big Kahuna" is a movie about religion and business. About what happens when the two ideologies clash, and how they're really not all that different in the end. It's about how there are some people who are so caught up in their faith that they're blind to everything else, and how there are a lot of us, the great unwashed masses, who are stuck in the middle and just trying to muddle through. And it's about the nature of God, the ultimate Big Kahuna.

The film takes place over the course of twenty-four hours at an industrial lubricant convention. Representing Lodestar Industries are Larry Mann (Kevin Spacey), Phil Cooper (Danny DeVito) and Bob Walker (Peter Facinelli). Larry is an intense go-getter; Phil is a more laid-back marketing veteran; and Bob, a devout Baptist, is a fresh-faced novice sent along for appearances. Their job at the convention is to secure the account of Dick Fuller, a major player in the field referred to as the "Big Kahuna".

The Big Kahuna has promised that he'll come by Lodestar's tiny hospitality suite at some point during the evening. But he never shows up. Or, at least, so it appears until Bob (relegated to mixing drinks) mentions a man he chatted with most of the night. It turns out that this man was Dick Fuller, wearing somebody else's nametag. Larry is aghast to discover that he and Bob talked about not lubricants but instead Fuller's dogs, and God, and life and death -- taboo subjects for a potential client. However, the Big Kahuna has invited Bob to a private party that night. Larry and Phil reluctantly send him off, their last chance to secure the important contract.

"The Big Kahuna" was written by Roger Rueff from his play "Hospitality Suite". That the movie is based on a theatrical script should come as little surprise. The emphasis on dialogue is enormous. Apart from the leads, there is only one other credited performer (Paul Dawson as a bellboy). The camera rarely leaves the hospitality suite's main room. I first encountered this type of moviemaking with "Glengarry Glen Ross" (also co-starring Spacey). That film at least had the benefit of a larger cast, and I cannot deny that "The Big Kahuna"'s tunnel-vision-like focus on just the three performers and single set grew tiresome on occasion.

But only on occasion. For the most part, "The Big Kahuna" is a brilliantly-written, beautifully-acted movie that draws the best out of its talented cast. It is hard not to enjoy a movie in which the actors are so obviously relishing their dialogue. Spacey in particular is magnetic -- watching his verbal sparring with DeVito and Facinelli is the oral equivalent of an Evert/Navratilova tennis match. He brings great energy to the role, and gets most of the picture's funniest lines. But he does not treat Larry as a funnyman; Spacey brings a raw, naked truth to the character. At one point, Bob and Phil debate whether Larry is honest or just blunt. "He's blunt and honest," says Phil, and he couldn't be more right.

DeVito's is a complex role, the sort that surprises you in the end with just how many layers were revealed. Phil is at a crossroads. At a time when he is supposed to be settling in and looking forward to retirement in the not-too-distant future, his life is in an upheaval (he's newly divorced) and he's looking for direction. I know how difficult that is at twenty-three; I can only imagine how frustrating and demoralising it must be at fifty-two. DeVito turns in a sombre, realistic performance that is intelligently conceived, conveying Phil's inner turmoil in little steps rather than one big leap.

As the relative newcomer of the trio, Facinelli is challenged to compete with his veteran co-stars, and does good work. In a way, Bob is the most difficult role. He believes no more fervently in his religion than Larry does in marketing, but whereas Larry preaches something most of us can relate to (namely, business), Bob adheres to something more idealistic, and hence potentially more ludicrous. Facinelli does an able job of giving Bob his own strength without seeming too coy or wishy-washy.

And this is important, because it is Facinelli's ability to face off with Spacey that gives "The Big Kahuna" its impetus and its balance. Both Larry and Bob are representatives -- priests, in a sense -- of their respective religions. Bob cannot conceive of a conversation in which God is set aside. We get the impression that Larry feels the same way about lubricants, at least for the duration of the convention. They are both seeking, in their own way, the Big Kahuna. For Larry, of course, this is Dick Fuller. Nothing is more important than meeting him, courting him, getting on his side. Bob's "Big Kahuna" is God, but Bob's intentions toward Him are hardly any different, except that they are spiritual rather than material. Larry and Bob are opponents in a literal sense, but they are really preaching the same mindset.

It is Phil, then, who provides the pivotal counterpoint in the movie. He is ambivalent and uncertain about both God and lubricants. He represents the average person, who is not so firm in their convictions, and is unwilling to give himself over entirely to his faith (be it religion or lubricants or anything else).

But perhaps "The Big Kahuna"'s most thoughtful observations are reserved for the title character(s). Fuller is only barely glimpsed throughout the movie; instead, he is revealed to us through reverential musings. But Fuller is human, and we discover this only through the one character who does not worship him. With Bob, Fuller is able to open up, and talk about something other than lubricants. The implication -- symbolised beautifully in a dream Phil relates to Larry -- is that maybe God, Bob's Big Kahuna, is no different. He's just never had anyone to sit down with Him, have a drink, and chat.

Copyright © 2000 Shannon Patrick Sullivan. Archived at The Popcorn Gallery, http://www.physics.mun.ca/~sps/movies/TheBigKahuna.html

_______________________________________________________________________ / Shannon Patrick Sullivan | "We are all in the gutter, but some of us \ | shannon@mun.ca | are looking at the stars." - Oscar Wilde | \___________________________|__________________________________________/ | Popcorn Gallery Movie Reviews www.physics.mun.ca/~sps/movies.html | | Doctor Who: A Brief History of Time (Travel) /drwho.html |

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