From the director of "Get Shorty," here's a punchy farce with lots of good humor, light-hearted fun, good acting, slapstick and music that rolls with the punchy punches.

Stan Tucci is the man you'll love to hate; he's the perfect idiot, "This is my house and I'll suck on your toes if I want to!" He's such an ass, people are out to kill him. His wife says quite accurately to the police, "After meeting him, you probably figure I'm a prime suspect."

Tim Allen plays the underdog you'll route for; Dennis Farina, the thug you'll sympathize with; and Zooey Deschanel perfectly recreates the modern teenager next door.

This film was originally slated for release in Sept of 2001, but the tragedy on the 11th delayed it ... and for good reason. Though, much more silly than menacing, the film does place weapons in an aircraft. A bumbling thug trips just outside of the airport, a bag full of golf clubs and one conspicuous rifle spill out onto the sidewalk. He reaches for an excuse to onlookers, "We play with a guy that cheats." Tasty odd little lines like that abound.

Kudos to the score, the music shows great sensitivity to the odd mix of plot and humor. Hardly a mar, but if I was forced to find one, I'd site Tom Sizemore's character inconsistently bumbling between bonehead and 1/2 brain. Nonetheless, he's very funny, and so is this well-paced, tight, little film teetering ticklingly on the fine line between the ridiculous and the possible.

Click for INTERVIEWS with "Big Trouble" cast members and the director.  Interview with Johnny Knoxville.