Picture This

A friend recently loaned me his DVD of the movie The Big Picture. I'm now one step closer to having seen every Kevin Bacon movie. (Well, I'm one step closer to having seen every movie ever made, but anywho...) Written (in part) and directed by Christopher Guest, this movie definitely has his wry brand of humor, though it's not a "mockumentary."

In the movie, Kevin Bacon plays a young director just out of film school who has won a "promising newcomer" sort of award that garners the attention of a manipulative producer and a do-nothing agent. They stuff up his ego, help him transform into a bit of a jerk, and then completely sabotage his efforts to make the movie he wants to make.

This is not really a "laugh out loud" sort of film, but it is really funny. And perhaps a bit painful. Anyone who has ever worked on any kind of shared creative endeavor will recognize the compromises, fights, and frustrations of trying to bring "your vision" to fruition.

Kevin Bacon heads a cast full of recognizable faces. Jennifer Jason Leigh, J.T. Walsh, and Michael McKean all have fairly significant roles, as does a very young Seinfeld/Soapdish-era Teri Hatcher. Martin Short has a few killer scenes in a strangely uncredited role. Throw in some bizarre cameos by Elliott Gould, Roddy McDowall, June Lockhart, John Cleese, and others, and you've got a very eclectic mix.

It's by no means a great movie, but it is certainly a good movie for the right audience. I'd give it a B-.