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Big Hit, The
More like a Big Miss
Mark Wahlberg would later make more of a name for himself, but they must have all but stuck a gun in his face to make him take this one. Wahlberg is Melvin, a professional hitman for a local mob who's plagued with girlfriend troubles (pushy loudmouth Pam, played by Christina Applegate). Melvin gets a break when his buddy Cisco (Lou Diamond Phillips) hatches a plan to kidnap the daughter of a Japanese mob boss (China Chow) and he falls in love with her. Oh dear--is someone going to cry "Western patriarchy overthrow! Asian fetish!" However, Cisco soon has to take them both down when the daughter is revealed to be his boss's goddaughter, while Melvin remembers he's got an overdue videotape at his favorite store. Don't ask.
The plot is nothing more than a convenience for the screenwriter here--it serves as an easy vehicle for him to place his characters in all kinds of predicaments so they can blow stuff up, shoot people en masse, and engage in one or two one-on-one fight scenes. All of it is weak, though. Wahlberg is whiny even when he's shooting a gun and doing double sidekicks; Philips's performance is slightly less annoying than the gold tooth he keeps flashing throughout the movie, but only just. And the whole family conflict Melvin faces with Pam's Jewish parents is pointless, intrusive and stereotypical. Picture: Melvin has a hostage in the garage he doesn't want; Cisco is stroking a gun and using his gold tooth to glare at him threateningly; mother-in-law is trying to make a toast. Gee, Melvin, dilemma dilemma. Isn't the solution obvious? Get out your gun and shoot everybody. Then grab the hostage and find a Motel 6.
That's the trouble with these action/comedies. They either make it too simple, or not simple enough.
--Long
Copyright 2002 Tso Long Productions ©