It's not made clear in the story when it's all taking place, but going by Alberto's (Pasquale Cajano) barbershop prices of a quarter for a shave and seventy five cents for a haircut, I would guess around the 1960's. Hard to imagine how someone could make a living doing that, but those were different times. I had to wonder why the brothers opened an Italian restaurant right across the street from an established rival doing a brisk business, and if you think about it, it's not much of a surprise that Seco Pascal (Ian Holm) would give Primo (Tony Shaloub) and Secondo (Stanley Tucci) a bum steer about Louie Prima showing up at their restaurant's big night. Most of the time Shaloub offers a quirky but likeable performance in his film portrayals but his character here struck me as mostly annoying, in as much he refused to see the practicality of his brother's approach to running a successful operation. I mean really, if he couldn't understand that three varieties of risotto as the main course on their menu might be a turn-off for the average customer, he shouldn't have been in the business. I don't mean to strike such a harsh tone because generally I liked the movie and the ancillary characters who flitted in and out of the story as the situations required. Secondo was a bit of a creep for cheating on his girlfriend (Minnie Driver) the way he did, which leaves me to consider that the most appealing character might have been Cristiano (Marc Anthony), the quiet and unassuming kitchen helper at the restaurant who found romance in dancing with his broom and being a support to the conflicted brothers. He managed to cheerfully stay above the fray through thick and thin.
Review of Big Night
