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List Price: $26.98 | | Label: Universal Studios
Salesrank: 76686
Released: August 29, 2000 |
| Our Price: $5.95 |
| Used Price: $2.42 |
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MPAA Rating: R (Restricted)
Media: DVD |
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Editorial Review:
Two salesmen (Danny DeVito and Oscar winner Kevin Spacey) and a company researcher (Peter Facinelli) set up shop in a hotel suite in Wichita, Kansas, on a business trip. They hope to sell their particular brand of industrial lubricants to the elusive Mr. Fuller. Spacey and DeVito are seasoned pros, while Facinelli is excited about his first business trip. DeVito is going through some kind of mid-life crisis; Spacey is all about the sale and little else; and the new kid is naive, moral, and extremely religious. Once the characters are established, nothing much happens. They talk. They prepare for their sales party, and they talk. The event starts, but the movie quickly cuts to the mess in the room afterward so they can talk about what happened during the party. Even when Facinelli is given an invite to hang out with Mr. Fuller at a private party, the camera stays behind in the hotel room to listen to Spacey and DeVito talk. Talk talk talk. Based on the play by Roger Rueff, who also wrote the screenplay, The Big Kahuna never really feels like a movie, probably because it's all talk and no story, set in a hospitality suite that increasingly feels like a prison. --Andy Spletzer
The Big Kahuna Reviews:
A Play with Cameras 
2009-11-29 - Ok. Here's an interesting question. You see a movie starring actors that you know and like. You have never heard abotu the movie before. What happened? Did it fall through the cracks? Was it one of those early movies? Or is it just not very good?
In the case of this movie, choose the last option. This movie was made at a time when Kevin Spacey could do no wrong. He was the great one. Before Pay it Forward and Superman made him seem like a terrible hack, he was making this dreck. This is essentially Arthur Miller's Death of a Salesman (Bloom's Guides) without anyone dying. Or Glengarry Glen Ross: A Play without balls. Three salesmen gather together and try to sell stuff. One of them is a fundamentalist Christian who keeps talking about Jesus Christ. The other two get really mad at him. In the end, being a sales man is a very sad experience.
This is a tired drippy movie without much to show for itself save a lot of tired speeches about being a salesman. Avoid.
Kevin spacey at his best 
2009-10-10 - Outstanding dialogue and very deep insight into how religion, whether muslim, christian, jewish or any other kind, can bring us back to the dark ages, unless of course it was God's intent to keep us forever in the dark (ages)
The Big Kahuna
2008-06-29 - For any fan of Kevin Spacey this is a must see film. As a chamber piece it it snaps with excellent performances from all actors. As our characters come more and more sharply into focus the push and pull between the sense of doom or triumph becomes less and less about the achievement of their business gaols and more about their own self discovery, and how they will share these insights with each other. A must see for fans of films that focus on great dialog as apposed to action and FX.
Perfect casting! 
2008-03-02 - This adaptation of Roger Rueff's play does not add more action just because it is in movie format. While not an action/adventure flick, this movie packs some really dramatic interactions. Three men on a business trip, all with complicated inner issues, try to focus on their sales objective, which is to land the "Big Kahuna" as new account. The casting of this movie was inspired. Kevin Spacey, Danny DeVito, and Peter Facinelli work well together and ring true as the characters they play. Wonderful movie!
One of the best movies ever made!
2007-03-27 - For a movie that basically takes place in a hotel room the entire time this movie is great in every since of the word. I can relate to each of the three characters in this movie especially Kevin and Danny's roles.
