Big Nothing

Plot synopsis:
The film is set in a small Oregon town, where a brutal serial killer nicknamed the 'Oregon undertaker' has been murdering and mutilating young women.
Charlie (David Schwimmer) is an ex-teacher turned disaffected call center employee who is fired on his first day. Distraught at being unable to provide for his daughter Emily and policewoman wife Penelope (Natascha McElhone), he is approached by former colleague Gus (Simon Pegg), an aspiring scam artist who presents Charlie with a seemingly snag-free plan to make some cash: blackmail Reverend Smalls, who is listed in the company database of visitors to illegal porn websites. Gus plans on extorting money from Reverend Smalls, with the intention of publicly exposing his secret shame should he refuse to pay. The normally cautious Charlie reluctantly agrees to play a part in the scam, confident that with the money he will garner from the deal he would be able to support his family. A teenage pageant queen Josie McBroom (Alice Eve), Gus's scheming one-night stand, forces herself into the scheme. Josie convinces Charlie and Gus that she should make the call to Smalls on the grounds that if either of them called, the police could trace their voices and connect them to the job.
The plan goes into action, and Gus goes to Smalls' house where he is surprised by the Reverend wielding a gun. From outside the house two shots are heard. At the same time, Charlie arrives at the bar to explain his and Gus' alibi, only to find out that the blind owner of the gas station where Gus has supposedly gone is at the bar celebrating his 80th birthday. Charlie runs away and goes to Smalls' house, where he finds the Reverend dead. Scared, he drags the body outside, and dumps him into a nearby septic tank. He goes back inside the house, tries to call Josie. He then finds Gus and learns that the Reverend shot Gus in the leg, explaining the blood near the corpse. After the first shot, Gus hit the Reverend over the head with a vase, leaving him alive but unconscious. Gus and Charlie leave the house to escape the scene of the crime, but Charlie remembers that he left Josie's card inside. They go back and get it, but in the process Gus stumbles upon a hidden DVD collection of the Reverend. They put one in, and find a video of the Reverend killing and torturing a young girl. They try to flee the house, but are immediately met by a deputy police officer outside the door. The policeman explains that the Reverend was found dead, with three bullet holes in his head.
Charlie lets in the policeman, who notices some blood on the floor. Charlie, in the kitchen, grabs a knife and cuts himself, and then goes back to the policeman to explain that he cut himself on a vase. Right before leaving, the policeman decides to see what Charlie had been watching, much to Charlie's protests. He presses play, and watches the beginning of a children's movie Gus had secretly switched in. Satisfied, he leaves the house, but finds marks in the ground that look like someone had been dragged. Charlie follows the policeman to the end of the drag marks, the septic tank. As Charlie is about to open it, Gus smashes a vase against the head of the deputy, who is promptly dragged inside.
Inside, Charlie panics about the murder of the Reverend and the kidnapping of a policeman and leaves, where he is met by the Reverend's wife (Mimi Rogers) who has a gun pointed at Charlie. They go back inside, where she explains that she shot the Reverend and that she was going to meet her lover, Max, at the house so they could collect their $2,000,000 the real Reverend had left. Gus and Charlie explain that Max will not be seeing her, and she asks them where the money is, pointing a gun at the tied-up policeman. They frantically try to say that they don't know anything about the money, and right before she is about to shoot the deputy, Josie comes in and lodges an axe in the wife's head. As Charlie and Gus talk over what's been happening, Josie finds the money hidden in the Reverend's oven, and calls Charlie and Gus over. As they are looking at the stacks of hundred dollar bills, they hear cries of "help" from outside. The deputy has escaped through the front door, and, rolling himself along, is soon caught by the three. In his rolling, the deputy drops his badge, which Charlie picks up and puts in his pocket. They agree to dispose the body of the wife. The policeman, still alive, asks to use the toilet. Inside, he tries to escape through a window, but slips and kills himself by breaking his skull on the toilet.
Charlie, Gus, and Josie hide the bodies in suitcases and drive away to dispose them, but soon get into an argument. Charlie reveals that the reason why he has been reeling off random facts is because of a neurological disorder. This problem with the neurotransmitter acetylcholine means that eventually his mind will become blank and explains why he was fired from his teaching position. After driving for a while Charlie realises that Gus, who had originally said he needed the money for his daughter's cornea operation, does not really have a daughter, and punches him. In this small fight, they nearly get into an accident with a fat man, who tries to call the police, but is persuaded by Gus to not do so. Charlie, Gus and Josie drive away and get to their disposal point, only to find that one of the bodies is missing. They drive back and hit the Reverend's wife, who had jumped out of the car and was trying to get help. As they look over the body, two police officers arrive, one of them being Charlie's wife, and quickly see the body. Charlie's wife tries to call her deputy, but it goes to voicemail. Josie hurriedly makes up a story, but the three are taken to the station where a special agent is waiting.
Agent Hymes (Jon Polito), the fat man the three almost got into an accident with, examines the body with Gus and Josie, seeming to understand the earlier events. However, it turns out not to be the case and he lets them go. In the waiting room, Charlie finds his sleeping daughter, who could not be left alone at the house and was brought by his wife, and gives her his coat. Charlie, Gus and Josie drive to a tar pit, where they plan to dispose of the bodies, but they find that the special agent has been following them. He gets angry at Gus for calling him fat before, and Gus swipes and stabs him with an insulin needle in the foot. The agent throws the gun up, which is caught by Charlie, who then points the gun at the agent. The agent then reveals that Josie is the Wyoming Widow; a murderer who befriended men and killed them with whiskey laced with highly concentrated thallium. She disregards it as nonsense, but Charlie and Gus make her empty her pockets, where they find the tell-tale flask of poisoned whiskey. They make her drink some, and she pretends to die, but soon begins laughing at their foolishness as it is not poisoned. They check for the agent, but as he has disappeared they go looking for him. Gus goes back to the car and tries to hide the money, but is caught by the agent, who complains of his lack of payment for what he does. He shoots Gus twice, killing him, and gets the money. In the mean time, Charlie's wife finds the badge of her deputy in her husband's coat, but drives to a bridge and throws it off, removing the evidence.
The agent runs to his car, but is surprised by Josie, who was waiting in the back seat. They make him eat a large sugary lollipop, dangerous because of his diabetes, and leave him for dead. Charlie remarks on what monsters they have become, and is then faced by Josie, who has a gun pointed at his head. She explains that she really is the Wyoming Widow, and then gives him the choice of the bullet or the poisoned whiskey (from her second flask). Charlie tells her not to spend all the money in one place, and drinks the whiskey, dying quickly, but not before he happily sees Josie discover that the bag is filled with nothing but his daughter's stuffed animals. At home, Charlie receives a message on his phone from a publishing firm regarding his book and his dream job and an office. Also, his daughter is seen drawing with marker on some of the hundred dollar bills next to several large stacks of money.
Josie tries to hitch a ride away from Oregon, and finally gets one from an old man. The old man goes to the back to "double-check on something", and Josie takes out the poisoned whiskey. The old man covers a bloody leg with a tarpaulin (where it is revealed he is the Oregon undertaker), and goes back into the truck to drive away with Josie.

Tags: dark, comedy, neo noir, murder, cult, violence, entertaining, sadist

Review:
As a huge fan of the likes of Tarrantino, Fincher, and the Coen brothers, I'm betting that the skewed nature of the comedy is not going to be for everyone, but if you like your movies heavy on the WTF quotient, this one's for you.I saw it at the Cardiff Film Festival last week, and the audience couldn't get enough of it.
I can also see how some people have problems with seeing Simon Pegg as an American.HOWEVER, in it's defence, 'Big Nothing' is a lot of fun, is snappy, stylish, well paced and all in all a very enjoyable piece of film making.
Big Nothing is a great comedy, with plot twists and humour all the way through this movie.
I think that David Schwimmer is amazing and also Simon Pegg playing as Gus, as the two actors are a great combination and also Alice Eve acted well.
I just watched Big Trouble with absolutely no expectations, how could i, it had a very limited release in my area and almost no publicity alongside some terrible press reviews, i don't think it even has US release date yet and made no dent at the UK box office.Along came the DVD and because Simon Pegg and David Schwimmer are in it i was compelled to give it a chance and to my surprise the critics judge to harshly again, this film is 82mins of pure fun, great chemistry between the two leads, an easy going quirky script and some nice dark touches with some great plot twist.The film escapes its low budget by not looking like it was filmed in the isle of Man and North wales, believe me i looked for the cracks, they didn't show.Watching the DVD extras its clear these guys had a great time making the movie and I'm pleased to see Pegg/Schwimmer have teamed up again for Run Fatboy Run, lets hope they work as well together again.If you like a light hearted black comedy then you could do a lot worse than watch this little gem, ignore the reviews and take a look for yourself and if your in the US why not get hold of a copy on import, you won't be disappointed.p.s Kudos goes to the lollipop..
Big Nothing is a wonderfully black comedy with a tight twisted plot line, a very well chosen soundtrack and perfect acting.
It's fast passed, interesting and very funny.Simon Pegg is just amazing as con man Gus and even David Schwimmer is surprisingly wonderful as the misguided Charlie.
The supporting cast is also brilliant, especially the surprise of Mimi Rogers as Mrs. Smalls.Although this films plot isn't completely original and you can tell where the writer got a lot of his ideas from; the acting, direction and cinematography really make it something special and worth watching.It's strange seeing the very talented British comedian Simon Pegg in the role of a burly American con man, but he really does pull it off and if you had any doubts about him as a character actor before this film should set that straight.
An unemployed teacher (good performance by David Schwimmer) tries to find a way to earn money so he can support his family, but ends up in a messy crime with his two accidental "comrads" (master of comedy Simon Pegg and beautiful Alice Eve).This is the plot for a brilliant black comedy made by French director Jean-Baptiste Andrea.
And by brilliant, I mean exactly that.Thought the plot may not seem that interesting, Andrea directs a great story, combining effectively resources form comedy, black humor, and even suspense.
But I admit I don't know too much about dark dramas/comedies as I don't watch too many.I thought the movie is very engaging but starts out a little slow.
A movie with this cast, especially the hilarious Mr Pegg, should have had a good chance of giving me a few laughs, but that never happen.
Actually the best thing about this movie is the soundtrack (Eels, Ramstein etc.)If you're looking for comedy I recommend you to re watch "Shaun of the Dead" instead of wasting time on this movie.
a rating of 6.8, a good cast, this all looked very promising but not for the first time I wonder what drugs some people on here take when they watch movies.
It starts off nicely enough and introduces some likable characters, but it goes absolutely nowhere and seems to think rolling out one silly plot twist after another makes for a good movie.
A good film, not great but worth watching and definitely twice (I preferred it second time round) it's a unique film, the idea has been done in different ways but the plot holds it's own very well.I am a big Simon Pegg fan and found him to play Gus very well and was glad that he played a much different character than his previous portrayals.
He had good on screen chemistry with David Schwimmer who's character Charlie actually was to me the funnier of the two.The three main cast were strong at acting and the film didn't lose steam, the development of the film as the situation got more and more out of control was well paced and there was twists and turns at every corner.A good attribute if this film is that it is primarily a comedy, a black comedy and i did find myself laughing at the predicaments they were in but at the same time i enjoyed the dramatic and thriller elements and the effective music, it also came across as farce-ish in places.I would definitely recommend giving this a go.
Well, this plan goes so far off the chart that it twists you into one of those most bizarre but simply funny movies ever.Probably the most astounding part of the movie is Simon Pegg who acts astounding, this man is British and acts as a damn American through this entire film, classic.
David Schwimmer in my mind leads the way with some good acting and possibly the best quote of the movie, "Don't spend it all in one place.".This movie isn't one for the faint of the heart and if your gonna place bets on what is gonna go wrong and who is gonna live in this movie, do it and get ready to be surprised..
There was in fact nothing almost nothing funny in this film.Alice Eve, who I'd never heard of, delivers a reasonable comic performance while Pegg and Schwimmer flounder about unsure whether to be joking or serious at any given moment.The directing is terrible with the change from slapstick to drama happening is a very jarring and annoying way.The writing is poor, with neither the drama or the humour being worth watching and the dialogue is dull at best.The plot is a mixture of movie clichés with nothing added.The film isn't even worth hating but it is worth avoiding..
It started out as a very disturbing and violent movie, but became a real comedy of errors and every man for himself.David Schimmer plays an eccentric "factoid" full ex-teacher who is at the end of his tether and will do almost anything to look after his little girl.Simon Pegg plays a slick con-man who just can't quite get it right....
England's Simon Pegg (Shaun of the Dead) is priceless as Gus as well as a good supporting cast consisting of Alice Eve, Jon Polito, and Natascha McElhone.The soundtrack is another highlight as it works perfectly with the characters and situations..
The film sees the pairing of an unlikely comedy duo - we've got Simon Pegg, the British comedian who rose to worldwide fame three years ago with Shaun of the Dead, and part of the cast of US hit show Friends (which I've never been a fan of), David Schwimmer, and they actually work quite well together.
Gus plans to blackmail a reverend out a lot of money, and when Charlie decides to go in on the plot, things quickly start to get out of hand.How funny you find this film will largely depend on your sense of humour.
At just 80 minutes, Big Nothing does feel a little short, though it has to be said that the film makes good use of its running time.
I've never really watched Friends so I can't say how different Schwimmer is in this film, but I actually rather liked him and felt he had a good rapport with Pegg.
oh-no-it's-not-happening-phew' schtick.Simon Pegg is capable of doing a pretty good accent but in this I thought it was a bit painful.All in all; not that funny and the best of the drama was 2nd-hand.Shame too because I would have loved to have loved it..
Pegg did good with American accent, though still felt really weird to see him as a guy from Sin City.I guess this movie is not for everyone, for I didn’t find it as amusing and interesting as many here are, even to the point that I felt like this was a truly waste of time.
With him teaming with one of today's comedy best Simon Pegg with a good looking Alive Eve, all in a background of dark comedy you will have one of the funniest movie made in a long time.
His co-worker, Charlie (David Schwimmer) and ex-girlfriend, Josie (Alice Eve) are brought into the plan, which unsurprisingly goes horribly wrong.Simon Pegg appears to have struck gold again.....well, maybe not gold, but silver.
Although not as good as Pegg's other films such as Hot Fuzz, Shaun of the Dead or Run Fatboy Run, Big Nothing is nevertheless both entertaining and funny.The humour of Big Nothing is of a very dark nature and some may not understand or like it.
I haven't heard Pink Floyd in years." Now, I'm not really squeamish (I actually sat through the entire autopsy scene in Saw IV without getting uncomfortable) but I actually cringed at the part where a character cracks his head open on a toilet.There's one thing that annoyed me about Big Nothing and that is Simon Pegg's American accent.
David Schwimmer (Ross from the TV show Friends) and Simon Pegg (dude from the Brit-comedies Shaun of the Dead and Hot Fuzz) star in a comedic action-thriller-crime British movie.
That's pretty cool that a year after Big Nothing that Schwimmer and Pegg decided to act together in a movie of their own.The movie also co-starred Alice Eve. She was in She's Out of My League, which is one of those movies that I refuse to watch.
There's too much plot and not enough excellent banter - It will do well in the local video store, but really needed some flashes of real wit to drive it: a film about losers who bungle just doesn't cut it unless there are some real moments that shine and there really is nothing outstanding here.Schwimmer and Pegg are good together; but again not great - all in all a rather flat offering - and given the pedigree that's a real shame..
Pegg and Polito (both funny) are the stars of the show alongside Alice Eve who i hadn't seen before (and kind of fell in love with).It's let down by Scwimmer who, let's be honest, IS playing Ross from friends and a script that thinks it's cleverer than it actually is.
A huffing, puffing crime farce that throws its plot straws together as quickly as possible, it's riddled with flat dialogue and leaves its characters no room to manouevre.David Schwimmer regurgitates his gulping Ross routine in an effort to create sympathy for luckless schmuck Charlie, while cuddly Brit Simon Pegg fires comedy blanks as Gus, the charmless American chancer who cons him into a blackmail scam.
I felt his comic timing was great and him and Sean Pegg made an interesting duo.The blonde girl was a nice bit of eye candy as well.The movie was boring at first but got slightly better as time went on and the ending was spectacular.My only gripe is I felt the beginning of the film was drawn out.Not the sort of film i would go to the cinema for but entertaining to watch at home which i did last week.I'd give it 6.5 out of 10..
After watching this movie, I actually have a new appreciation for Very Bad Things, because this shows how hard it is to make things work right and be funny and good and have twists in a movie like this..
I don't think the film is as good as A Simple Plan, if only for the fact A Simple Plan felt more grounded and was more subtle in its development and fleshing out of its characters and predicaments; but Big Nothing is a nourishing and devilishly good ride of genre basics and bleak but effective writing.The film sees three relatively hapless leads, predominantly in David Schwimmer's Charlie but additionally in Simon Pegg's Gus and Alice Eve's 'Miss Teen Oklahoma' character named Josie McBroom.
I was happy with the way it ended, I suppose, though it would have been better if there weren't about two hundred and seventy six plot twists preceding it, making me expect a little more and care a little less about the characters themselves.All in all, worth a watch if you're a fan of any of the actors, but not so much if you're not..
Simon Pegg makes a convincing American, while David Schwimmer manages not to be annoying, and Alice Eve looks gorgeous (and also manages a credible US accent).The film's main stumbling block is that it doesn't know when to stop.
The first half has Simon Pegg (Shaun Of The Dead) running around with Friends star David Schwimmer and talented, blonde Alice Eve. They plan a scam that goes increasingly wrong.
David Schwimmer and Simon Pegg hit a new low in this supposed black comedy.
If it only had more solid script this movie could have ended up somewhere else, but anyways it's fun to watch it..Some of the parts of the story makes you feel "why he/she did that without a damn reason ?" like he disposing of the body in the septic at the very beginning of the action..And then everything develops quickly.
David Schwimmer (Charlie) and Simon Pegg (Gus) come off as a brilliant comedic duo in this somewhat well-written dark humored caper story.
Not to say the comedic side of Schwimmer/Pegg (who where okay but definitely not great in Run Fatboy Run) don't work well here - they do nicely but it creates a slightly out of place lighter edge to the movie......overall i'm glad i watched it - it was worthy of me writing my first IMDb review....
I watched The Big Nothing, Run Fat Boy Run and Hot Fuzz this week all with Simon Pegg as leads.Hot Fuzz was horrible and this was just a riot.It's dark...it's gruesome and it's funny - without a whole bunch of needless swearing or nonsense shooting.The cast was good, David Schwimmer was perfect as the wimpy guy.
Big Nothing revolves around Charlie, an everyman who gets caught up in a blackly comic mess of cash and dead bodies after meeting Gus, an American accented Simon Pegg.The initial setup is pretty thin, the call centre setting a missed opportunity, as is the plot, characters and motives.
The second being the 'big twist' around Josie's character.Aside from the fact that the usually brilliant Simon Pegg seemed like a shell of a comedy actor without Nick Frost, and that David Shwimmer's gamut of emotions have been better used in episodes of "Friends" (He just seems to wear the same 'Oh Gee!' face in every scene!), none of the characters have any charisma.
The rest of the supporting cast have too little screen time (usually because they are bumped off scant minutes after they appear), but even those who do have more than 3 lines in the film make such a poor attempt at their roles, that it is uncomfortable to watch.It's a shame, because there is a lot of potential here.I wouldn't even worry about the raging debate as to whether Simon Pegg's American accent was any good or not.
The film starts out a little contrived & keeps getting more so but if you can let go & go with the films plot that then you'll probably enjoy this movie.It aims to give you twist & turns on the blackmail theme gone wrong with some quite funny results, most of the film is them trying not to go to jail as more & more go wrong.
The strangest thing in this film is Simon Pegg doing an American accent, it doesn't really work & it took me quite a while to forget it was him & concentrate on the actual character.
Natascha McElhone is good but very under used in the film, the relationship with David Schwimmer doesn't have enough screen time so you don't feel his motivation for him to want the money so bad just to look after them really works.The film dips in the middle but ends pretty well with almost everyone getting what they deserve..
The Big Nothing - a comedy neo noir starring Simon Pegg & David Schwimmer with John Polito & Mimi Rogers.A couple of call-center washouts put together a scheme to blackmail a local reverend.Things go as planned - the end.....Just kidding- of course things go awry from the first attempt on- and things keep twisting and turning- and I felt no connection to the characters( and I usually love Pegg and think that Schwimmer was funny on Curb Your Enthusiasm and Friends).But this was a pale imitation of a Coen brothers movie- without the neat soundtrack or interesting characters.The DVD has interviews with the cast talking about how they loved the twisted plot and stuff.A misfire with only a couple of chuckles for the time invested.
- The actors : Simon Pegg, David Schwimmer and Alice Eve could all have been better with a great director.