ROANOKE TIMES
Copyright (c) 1996, Roanoke Times
DATE: Saturday, October 19, 1996 TAG: 9610210113
SECTION: EXTRA PAGE: 12 EDITION: METRO
TYPE: MOVIE REVIEW
SOURCE: KATHERINE REED STAFF WRITER
A journalist is obligated to reveal biases when they may interfere with the professional duty to be fair and objective. So, you ought to know: The movie reviewer is of Italian descent. Very much so, you might say.
And a movie like "Big Night" is apt to sweep up any Italian in its voluptuousness. Wine is poured in abundance. Eggs are cracked into flour, and pasta is lovingly produced by hand. People argue tenderly over how finely the garlic ought to be chopped. When they love or hate, they express those feelings with as much intensity as words can express; sometimes, in fact, they are so overwhelmed, they must "die."
"I have to kill you - this is so good," the successful restaurateur, Pascal, tells the humble chef, Primo, after tasting his timpano.
But you don't have to be Italian to love this movie. Quite possibly one of the best so far this year, "Big Night" ought to appeal to anyone who loves life - even when it's cruel.
Written by Stanley Tucci (who also stars) and Joseph Tropiano, Tucci's cousin, "Big Night" is about two brothers who own a struggling Italian restaurant on the New Jersey shore. Tucci is Secondo, who runs the front of The Paradise restaurant; his older brother, Primo, (Tony Shalhoub of "Wings"), is the uncompromising chef, a true culinary artist.
Business has been slow, partly because Primo's authentic cooking is over the heads of most customers. They want a pasta side with their risotto. And meatballs. Always with the meatballs.
Their other challenge is just down the street, a very busy Italian-style restaurant called Pascal's, where the restaurant's owner (Ian Holm) has learned "to give to people what they want. And later you can give them what YOU want."
Secondo has been given less than a month to come up with enough money to keep the restaurant open. He asks Pascal for a loan, and is refused. Instead, Pascal promises to get The Paradise big exposure, namely by inviting Italian-American musician Louis Prima to dinner at the restaurant.
"Big Night" celebrates the art of cooking and the pleasure of eating in much the same way as did "Babette's Feast." And, similarly, it's about more than cooking and eating. It's also about what happens in the moments between courses, when people are elbow to elbow at a table and time is measured in forks full of food and sips of wine.
But "Big Night" also gets at the intensity of sibling relationships, particularly between brothers, whose real source of pain at times is their inability to express the depth of their love for each other.
Directed by Tucci and Campbell Scott (who has a smallish role), "Big Night" is a fine thing, certain to create an appetite for all of the things that make life worth living.
Big Night ****
A Rysher Entertainment release showing at the Grandin Theatre. 105 minutes. Rated R for profanity and adult situations.
LENGTH: Medium: 58 linesby CNB