''The Big Kahuna'' is a 1999 American

business Business is the practice of making one's living or making money by producing or Trade, buying and selling Product (business), products (such as goods and Service (economics), services). It is also "any activity or enterprise entered into for pr ...

comedy-drama film Comedy drama, also known by the portmanteau ''dramedy'', is a genre of dramatic works that combines elements of comedy and drama. The modern, scripted-television examples tend to have more humorous bits than simple comic relief seen in a typical ...

directed by John Swanbeck, and produced by

Kevin Spacey Kevin Spacey Fowler (born July 26, 1959) is an American actor. He began his career as a stage actor during the 1980s, obtaining supporting roles before gaining a leading man status in film and television. Spacey has received various accolades ...

, who also starred in the lead role. The film is

adapted In biology, adaptation has three related meanings. Firstly, it is the dynamic evolutionary process of natural selection that fits organisms to their environment, enhancing their evolutionary fitness. Secondly, it is a state reached by the po ...

from the 1992 play ''

Hospitality Suite A hospitality suite is a room or suite of rooms in a hotel or convention center, provided during a convention or conference, in order for a business, candidate, or organization to meet and entertain current or potential clients, supporters, etc. ...

'', written by Roger Rueff, who also wrote the screenplay. John Swanbeck makes few attempts to lessen this film's resemblance to a stage performance: the majority of the film takes place in a single hotel room, and nearly every single line of dialogue is spoken by one of the three actors. The famous 1997 essay ''

Wear Sunscreen "Advice, like youth, probably just wasted on the young", commonly known by the title "Wear Sunscreen", is an essay written as a hypothetical commencement speech by columnist Mary Schmich, originally published in June 1997 in the ''Chicago Tribune ...

'' is featured at the end of the film.

Plot

Larry Mann (

) and Phil Cooper (

Danny DeVito Daniel Michael DeVito Jr. (born November 17, 1944) is an American actor, comedian, and filmmaker. He gained prominence for his portrayal of the taxi dispatcher Louie De Palma in the television series ''Taxi'' (1978–1983), which won him a Gold ...

), who are both experienced marketing representatives working for an industrial lubricants company, attend a trade convention in

Wichita, Kansas Wichita ( ) is the largest city in the U.S. state of Kansas and the county seat of Sedgwick County, Kansas, Sedgwick County. As of the 2020 United States census, 2020 census, the population of the city was 397,532. The Wichita metro area had ...

, in the

American Midwest The Midwestern United States, also referred to as the Midwest or the American Midwest, is one of four census regions of the United States Census Bureau (also known as "Region 2"). It occupies the northern central part of the United States. I ...

. They are joined in their hospitality suite by Bob Walker (

Peter Facinelli Peter Facinelli (born November 26, 1973) is an American actor and film and television producer. He starred as Donovan "Van" Ray on the Fox series '' Fastlane'' from 2002 to 2003. He played Dr. Carlisle Cullen in the film adaptations of the ''Tw ...

), a young man from the company's research department. Larry and Phil are close friends with a long history together. Larry faces urgent financial difficulties that he alludes to only obliquely; Phil has recently come through a recovery program for

alcoholism Alcoholism is, broadly, any drinking of alcohol (drug), alcohol that results in significant Mental health, mental or physical health problems. Because there is disagreement on the definition of the word ''alcoholism'', it is not a recognize ...

. Bob, an earnest young

Baptist Baptists form a major branch of Protestantism distinguished by baptizing professing Christian believers only (believer's baptism), and doing so by complete immersion. Baptist churches also generally subscribe to the doctrines of soul compete ...

, has few if any regrets. Larry explains that their single goal is to arrange a meeting with Dick Fuller, the CEO of a large company (" the Big Kahuna"). While the three wait in their suite for the convention downstairs to finish, Larry and Phil explain to Bob how to develop and discern character. They also make Bob the bartender for the evening even though he drinks infrequently. Larry remarks that as he has quit smoking, Phil has quit drinking and Bob is religious, it makes them "practically Jesus". Even though he makes a poor bartender, Bob spends the evening talking to people. In doing so, he inadvertently chats with the Big Kahuna, who invites him over to a private party at another hotel. Larry and Phil excitedly coach Bob through their pitch on industrial lubricants down to an amount of information Bob can handle and supply him with their business cards. As the pair wait for Bob, they reflect on the nature of human life. However, Bob returns to drop a bombshell: he used the time to discuss religion rather than pitch the company's product. Larry, dumbfounded, challenges Bob and leaves the room devastated. Phil explains to Bob that proselytizing is just another kind of sales pitch. He explains that making real human-to-human contact requires honesty and a genuine interest in other people. Phil gives his reason why he and Larry have a friendship: trust. He then tells Bob that until he can recognize what he should regret, he will not grow in character. The next morning Phil packs his things. As Larry checks out, he sees Bob talking again to the "Big Kahuna" in the lobby. They exchange a knowing smile as Bob appears to continue to push his own agenda of preaching God instead of selling lubricants. The soundtrack during the credits is "Everybody's Free (to Wear Sunscreen)", a setting of an essay by

Mary Schmich Mary Theresa Schmich ( ; born November 29, 1953) is an American journalist. She was a columnist for the ''Chicago Tribune'' from 1992 to 2021, winning the Pulitzer Prize in 2012. Her columns were syndicated nationally by Tribune Content Agency. ...

Cast

as Larry Mann *

as Phil Cooper *

as Bob Walker * Paul Dawson as Bellboy *

Jen Taylor Jennifer Taylor is an American actress. She is best known for her roles as Cortana in ''Halo'' games and the intelligent personal assistant. Career Jen Taylor taught herself how to do voice work by recording the radio and imitating what she ...

(''uncredited'') as Mrs. Johnson * George F. Miller (''uncredited'') as Hotel patron leaving lobby

Reception

''The Big Kahuna'' garnered a generally positive critical reception while earning modest returns at the box office. On

Rotten Tomatoes Rotten Tomatoes is an American review-aggregation website for film and television. The company was launched in August 1998 by three undergraduate students at the University of California, Berkeley: Senh Duong, Patrick Y. Lee, and Stephen Wang ...

the film has a "Certified Fresh" approval rating of 73% based on reviews from 79 critics. The site's consensus is "Wonderful adaptation of the stage play." On

Metacritic Metacritic is a website that review aggregator, aggregates reviews of films, TV shows, music albums, video games and formerly, books. For each product, the scores from each review are averaged (a weighted arithmetic mean, weighted average). M ...

the film has a score of 56% based on reviews from 27 critics, indicating "mixed or average reviews".

Roger Ebert Roger Joseph Ebert (; June 18, 1942 – April 4, 2013) was an American film critic, film historian, journalist, screenwriter, and author. He was a film critic for the ''Chicago Sun-Times'' from 1967 until his death in 2013. In 1975, Ebert beca ...

of the

Chicago Sun-Times The ''Chicago Sun-Times'' is a daily newspaper published in Chicago, Illinois, United States. Since 2022, it is the flagship paper of Chicago Public Media, and has the second largest circulation among Chicago newspapers, after the ''Chicago T ...

called it "Sharp-edged, perfectly timed, funny and thoughtful."

References

External links

* * * {{DEFAULTSORT:Big Kahuna, The 1999 films 1990s business films 1999 comedy-drama films American business films American comedy-drama films American films based on plays 1990s English-language films Films about friendship Films scored by Christopher Young Films set in hotels Films shot in Kansas Films shot in New York City Franchise Pictures films Lionsgate films Midlife crisis films Films produced by Elie Samaha 1990s American films