For the simple convenience of not having to get off the sofa, many preferred eating flavored cardboard to real pizza. In the end, a number of small outfits that elected not to implement free delivery went out of business, regardless of how good their product was. Big Night examines a similar battle in a different setting. Across the street is Pascal's Italian Grotto, which nightly draws full houses for its cheap, plentiful, familiar Italian fare and lively ambiance. Not surprisingly, the Paradise is in financial trouble.
Foreclosure is imminent.
The problem is, the brothers' time is almost up. Pascal, who respects both Primo and Secondo, offers his help. He assures the brothers that when famous singer Louis Prima is in town next week, he will invite him and his band to dine at the Paradise. To celebrate the event, Primo and Secondo prepare the feast of a lifetime, aware that if everything doesn't go right, this one expensive evening could turn out the be their Last Supper. Not only is Big Night a wonderful expression of the passion for food, and, by extension, for life, but it serves as a metaphor for the fight of independent artists against the establishment.