Released in late 1996 and directed by Howard Franklin, "Larger than Life" is road movie/comedy/animal flick starring Bill Murray as a motivational speaker who receives a huge inheritance from his father whom he never met. It's not a fortune, however, but rather a female elephant named Vera. He decides to sell the pachyderm, but he must choose between selling Vera to a zookeeper in San Diego (Janeane Garofalo), who's offering $30,000, or to an attractive circus owner for $40,000 (Linda Fiorentino). As they trek across the country, Jack meets circus friends of his dad, a zany truck driver (Matthew McConaughey) and a village of Hispanics in need of a miracle. Keith David is on hand as a train conductor.
I love elephants, circuses and road movies; I also appreciate Murray's subdued brand of humor now and then. So I enjoy "Larger than Life" to some degree, but it's generally a missed opportunity because it could've been so much better. The plot's great, but the script needed a serious rewrite to realize its potential. That takes time and money, of course, which the producers unfortunately didn't want to spend.
The movie contains scene after scene that hold the promise of great entertainment, one way or another, but they're never milked for their potential. Take the Hispanic village segment, it comes and goes to little dramatic or comedic effect. Or take Fiorentino and her high wire babes: What we see of them is fine but they're never flushed out for their potential (and I'm not talking about raunch or nudity). Also consider the wacky truck driver with the mullet: He has the promise of being a great comedic side character, but he ends up just being over-the-top weird and inscrutable.
Still, there are several laughs & amusing moments and the road trip is entertaining to a point, which makes "Larger than Life" worthwhile for some.
The film runs 93 minutes and was in St. Louis, Missouri; Denver, Colorado; Moab, Utah; Wrightwood & San Jose Airport, California.
GRADE: C
I love elephants, circuses and road movies; I also appreciate Murray's subdued brand of humor now and then. So I enjoy "Larger than Life" to some degree, but it's generally a missed opportunity because it could've been so much better. The plot's great, but the script needed a serious rewrite to realize its potential. That takes time and money, of course, which the producers unfortunately didn't want to spend.
The movie contains scene after scene that hold the promise of great entertainment, one way or another, but they're never milked for their potential. Take the Hispanic village segment, it comes and goes to little dramatic or comedic effect. Or take Fiorentino and her high wire babes: What we see of them is fine but they're never flushed out for their potential (and I'm not talking about raunch or nudity). Also consider the wacky truck driver with the mullet: He has the promise of being a great comedic side character, but he ends up just being over-the-top weird and inscrutable.
Still, there are several laughs & amusing moments and the road trip is entertaining to a point, which makes "Larger than Life" worthwhile for some.
The film runs 93 minutes and was in St. Louis, Missouri; Denver, Colorado; Moab, Utah; Wrightwood & San Jose Airport, California.
GRADE: C