Big Night

The real feast is in the mix of characters, each so finely and unschmaltzily delineated in a script so confident and controlled that even the most passing of participants comes alive.

Big Night is, in a word, delicious.

In addition to their deft skill with light drama, the directors understand well-placed humor, and throw just the right amount of comedy into the mix to make Big Night fun without turning it into an outright farce.

It's the moviegoing equivalent of great eating.

Both a delightful story and a great food movie that ranks with "Like Water for Chocolate'' or "Babette's Feast.''

There's an almost natty precision about this picture that's so rare these days in American movies that it provides satisfaction in itself.

The story, ultimately, is about the classic conflict between a desire to cherish and protect one's unique gifts from a brutal world and a more practical instinct to compromise beauty.

I just thought I'd come here and say that I need movies like this in my life. Genuine, indulgent, subtle, aching. In short, done with palpable care...

Piece of Advice DON'T WATCH THIS MOVIE WHILE YOUR HUNGRY!!! YOU WILL RESOLVE TO CANNIBALISM! But seriously, this was a really good film. It was about two brothers who own a lovely italian restaurant with authentic **** They're are losing customers fast as a new restaurant with not classical, but more 'joking around' kind of food takes all there business. Will a 'Big Night' of cooking and preparing for a HUGE dinner party with a special guest save the restaurant? Overall, great film.

This is one of those films that creep up on you after an opening that leaves you wondering just where it could possibly be heading. For a debut writing/direction collaboration by friends, Stanley Tucci and Campbell Scott (Son of George C.) - they certainly create an impression as a talented duo. On a low budget, they manage to bring in a sterling achievement, with a diverse cast featuring a surprising array of interesting personalities - who must have taken pay cuts for the sake of getting this rather off-beat project onto the screen. I’d dare say the fabulous food they consumed during production would have contributed a degree of interest also. The theme of two Italian brothers making it big in the ‘new land’ is handled with humor, laced with a degree of drama as their restaurant business racks up insurmountable debts. Ken Kelsch’s cinematography never gets overly glossy, keeping the duo’s angst and frustration foremost in proceedings. Do they stay or give up? Food here is not only a business but a star that brings people from various backgrounds together in common delight. Nice work with a marvelous end-credit song. Oh, and yes, they are Italian, so they tend to swear a bit.