The Big Empty – Review

The Big Empty is an oddball comedy which has some zany ideas mixed in with its humor and mystery. Actor John Person (Favreau) is hurting for work and money after 10 years in Los Angeles. He gets new headshots, waits for callbacks, sells his furniture for money, talks with his cute neighbor Grace (Adams) and putters around in his brown VW van, but his life feels empty.

Getting a strange knock on the door from another neighbor Neely (Cort), he gets a strange offer. He must take a blue suitcase to Baker, California. There, in 24 hours, a trucker named Cowboy will arrive to take the blue suitcase from him. If he will do this, he will get $25,000. The offer continues to go in strange ways, as Neely is clearly a bit off. Still, Neely has cash, and will pay back rent, and cover expenses.

All he has to do is deliver a suitcase to Cowboy, however Neely reinforces that it cannot be opened, and must be defended with John’s life, also giving a gun and bullets. John must leave by 10:00 PM this evening. This kicks off the adventure, which only goes to weirder and weirder places.

Mostly it is a good mix of comedy while being played seriously. The hints of mystery and Sci-Fi only enhance the oddball nature of the story, and the cast is surprisingly strong throughout even in smaller roles. The elements blend into a unique film, which may be why it never found a huge audience.