Roanoke Times
Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: SATURDAY, September 30, 1995 TAG: 9509300010
SECTION: EXTRA PAGE: B-12 EDITION: METRO
SOURCE: KATHERINE REED STAFF WRITER
DATELINE: LENGTH: Medium
Forget the warring identical twin brothers Andy Garcia plays in "Steal Big, Steal Little" and note instead the conflict between Zany Comedy and Politically Correct Family Drama.
The big clue for how this sometimes hilariously funny mess came to the screen in this shape can be found in the writing credits, where there are four names including that of director Andrew Davis. This is not good. This means that someone kept changing his mind about what this movie was going to be and kept firing the writer.
It's too bad.
Because "Steal Big, Steal Little" does have its moments.
It's about a good guy named Ruben Martinez (Garcia) who is left an enormous estate with lemon groves near Santa Barbara, Calif., by his adoptive mother. Mona (Holland Taylor) had discovered shortly before her death that Ruben's twin brother, Robert, was stealing from her. She changed her will to leave everything to Ruben.
Unfortunately, Robert is far along in an evil plan to turn the 40,000-acre estate into a "Gateway to the Pacific Rim" - some kind of big development. And he has a corrupt judge (David Ogden Stiers), sheriff (Charles Rocket), developer (Kevin McCarthy) and Japanese investor (Takaaki Ishibashi) all signed on with big money backing.
Ruben entrusts a bunch of cash found under Mona's mattress to his lifelong pal and attorney, Eddie (the absolutely delightful Joe Pantoliano), and runs off to Chicago to bring home his estranged wife, Laura (Rachel Ticotin), and their daughter. Laura's working for a car dealer named Lou Perilli (Alan Arkin).
That's the really good news in this movie, because Lou, who is in big trouble with a loan shark, follows Laura et al. back to California and almost single-handedly saves this movie from awfulness.
If it weren't for Arkin, "Steal Big" would fall flat on its face in a pile of gooey Ruben platitudes about family and the earth. (He actually says, ``The earth does not belong to us, we belong to the earth.") And it's as if Arkin's Lou is figuratively wiggling his fingers like rabbit ears behind Ruben's orating head. Of course he's not. Arkin has a much subtler way of stealing almost every scene of almost every movie he's in.
Pantoliano as the good-bad-good attorney gives him some help. Even Garcia loosens up so much in the Mexico scenes that it looks like he's bunny-hopping around the corner after Eddie.
But "Steal Big" returns to its brother-brother war and teetering soapbox. And when this movie attempts to champion any cause but comedy, it's no fun at all.
Steal Big, Steal Little **
A Savoy Pictures release playing at Salem Valley 8 and Tanglewood Mall. Rated PG-13 for some adult situations, bad language. 134 minutes.
by CNB