CrawlerChunky
In truth, there is barely enough story here to make a film.
Neive Bellamy
Excellent and certainly provocative... If nothing else, the film is a real conversation starter.
Ezmae Chang
This is a small, humorous movie in some ways, but it has a huge heart. What a nice experience.
Charles Herold (cherold)
I saw this movie when it first came out and really liked it. I recall it didn't do that well, perhaps because the trailer for it was so badly done.I decided to watch it again, and it's still very entertaining. It starts a little slow but gets nuttier and nuttier as it goes along. Jeff Goldblum is excellent as a volatile pianist and Bob Hoskins quite good as the meek protagonist. The plot is quite ingenious. The movie is quite silly and odd, and I can certainly see it wouldn't appeal to everyone, but for those who like quirky indie films, this is a great bet.
hokeybutt
THE FAVOUR, THE WATCH AND THE VERY BIG FISH (3+ outta 4 stars) I hadn't seen this movie for along time but I remember thinking when it first came out that it didn't have much going for it. Seeing it a second time I was really surprised at how much more I liked the oddball storyline. Bob Hoskins plays a nerdy church photographer who is trying to complete a photo series of famous Biblical characters. Unfortunately he hasn't found the right Jesus yet and his boss (Michel Blanc) is putting on the pressure. Filling in for an ailing friend, Hoskins finds himself doing voice-over work for porn movies... where he meets Sybil, the girl of his dreams (Natasha Richardson), in the funniest scene in the movie. Hoskins finally finds the ideal Jesus in a sad-faced homeless man played by Jeff Goldblum... who, after becoming famous playing Jesus, begins to think that he might *really* be. Many, many complications arise... and lots of extremely odd plot twists and bizarre characterizations. The movie definitely does not go where you think it is going to. The actors all do great jobs... and the script is filled with witty one-liners... and even a serious aside or two. Definitely worth checking out if you like unusual movies.
Dana Wang
This is a truly refreshing comedy with offbeat humour and I couldn't help laughing so loudly when I watched it. The main characters in the film are Louis (Bob Hoskins), Sybil (Natasha Richardson) and the pianist (Jeff Goldblum). Photographer Louis (who specialises in religious pictures) is asked by an sick friend to do him a favour- voicing a porno movie. At the studio Louis meets Sybil, who also lends her voice to the same film. Then Sybil tells Louis about a pianist (whose real name remains unknown) she met a couple of years ago, where she worked as a waitress. At a rich girl's birthday party the girl asked Sybil to ask the sad-looking pianist to smile because his facial expression was ruining her party. The girl even gave her an expensive, specially designed watch to Sybil for a smile of the pianist...The depressed-turned-crazily-jealous pianist attacked a violinist one night for the violinist's attempt to seduce Sybil. He got jailed. Now he's done his time and is coincidentally discovered by Louis and later hired by Louis' supervisor (Norbert, played by Michel Blanc) as the model Jesus Christ. Louis doesn't realise that he's the pianist, Sybil doesn't know Louis and the pianist work together now and the pianist is totally unaware that Louis and Sybil know each other. The psychologically deranged pianist is gradually convinced that he possesses the power of Christ, and seeks revenge when he finds out he's been 'betrayed' by the man who's given him a job and the woman who's driven him 'mad'...The 'favour' resembles the beginning, the watch is the connection while the 'very big fish' which is purchased by Louis resembles the odd consequences. Funnily acted, funnily filmed, with an eccentricly romantic ending, this movie is quite relaxing and it really makes you laugh. Many, many credits to Jeff Goldblum for his extremely hilarious, magical facial expressions and his acting as the pianist.
twiztidpsycho
You have to enjoy dry humor to really get the benifet of the film. Bob Hoskins plays the main character Louis Aubinard who thinks he is the most unlucky person on the face of the earth. His whole life begins to change when his boss played by Michel Blanc threatens to fire him if he does not find an actor to be photographed as Jesus. After work he visits his friend Zalmen who is sick he asks Louis to do him a FAVOR. He asks him to go down to studio and pretend that he is him and do the sound affects for a film. After that he seea a fish market outside his friend's apartment building and sees a VERY BIG FISH and buys it for supper. The next morning he goes to the studio only to find out he is looping sound affects for a porno film. At the studio he works with a women by the name of Sybil played by Natasha Richardson. When going out to lunch with her she tells the him the story of her last job and a never smiling pianist who falls head over heals for her. She meets him because of a little rich girl who will give her a WATCH if she can get him to smile. And that is only the first 45 minutes of this very humorus film. It is a great film to watch on a rainy day.
