It's entirely possible that sending the audience out feeling lousy was intentional

This story has more twists and turns than a second-rate soap opera.

A great movie, one of the best of this year. There was a bit of confusion at one point in the plot, but nothing serious.

This is a gorgeous movie made by a gorgeous spirit.

A movie with both strengths and weaknesses. The story has three salesmen -- or marketers as they like to call themselves -- holed up in a hotel room waiting and hoping for the Big Kahuna, the jackpot client, to show up at their party.Among the strengths, the sterling cast -- Kevin Spacey as the wisecracking but perceptive pusher; Danny DeVito as the recently divorced, troubled friend; and Peter Facinelli as the morally pure Baptist acolyte. That's about the whole cast, and there's basically one setting -- that arid hotel room -- because this play hasn't really been opened up much.The actors -- I don't know how to put this -- but they LOOK right for their parts. Kevin Spacey as they guy who debases most others, and Facinelli as the plain-faced innocent are especially good. Danny DeVito may be the weakest of the trio, if only because he never really LOOKS depressed. Can you imagine a suicidally melancholic Danny DeVito? Another strength is in the lines written for Spacey's character. His dialog varies from resignation to something that turns logic into an Escher drawing or a Mobius strip, in which everything seems to lead back to where it began. Some are hilarious.Alas, a play or movie has to be ABOUT something. The diverse salesmen as a way of exploring character is so old that it MUST be trustworthy, from the Maysles brothers' "Salesman", to "Tin Men" and "Glen Gary Glen Ross." Yet, we don't know what these guys are supposed to be selling, some kind of lubricant, but that's all.And there's a religious element of the kind that's best left masked by events. Not only does Facinelli continually reveal his spiritual purity but Danny DeVito, unprovoked, spins a long and improbable story of a dream he had about rescuing God who was hiding in a closet after some calamity. I said it was "improbable" only because my own dreams are entirely lacking in the kind of clarity, unity, and organization that DeVito's dream had. Also, while I'm at it, is it okay if I register a minor complaint to whoever is in charge of the lighting that I'm getting pretty fed up with the overuse of burnt orange? And they're too dark too. And can I please have more women and fewer ogres? When the characters discuss God and religion and all that, it sounds like a couple of college sophomores earnestly schmoozing over some weed. It all seems like an attempt to elevate the story to a plane on which it simply doesn't belong.The strengths outpace the weaknesses by a head.

In a Wichita, Kansas hotel suite, three salesmen wait to make the big deal with a man called Dick Fuller ("The Grand Kahuna"). There is an obvious double meaning in the name "Dick Fuller" and the men sell industrial "lubricants." There are other, more subtle, incidents of wordplay in Roger Rueff's script. It's adapted from the writer's play "Hospitality Suite" (a much better title). John Swanbeck directs it well, bring us closer to the three characters than would be possible on stage, and with enough movement to avoid becoming static. However, there is no reason to get close to these characters and the movie has little business being cinematic...The first unlikeable character is foul-mouthed Kevin Spacey (as Larry Mann). Among other things, Mr. Spacey delights in describing how a man can watch himself wipe better, after discharging his feces, with a three way mirror. Less vulgar is recently divorced smoker Danny DeVito (as Phil Cooper). A tired and sad-eyed "average Joe," Mr. DeVito is trying to stop drinking. Nobody gets drunk. The two middle-aged men are joined by fresh-faced young Peter Facinelli (as Bob Walker). A taller, younger and (arguably) handsomer Tom Cruise type, Mr. Facinelli is also a Christian. He claims Jesus is more important than either Dick Fuller or lubricants...It ends with a "Desiderata"-like rap, which further distances us from the interesting and well-acted trio.***** The Big Kahuna (9/16/99) John Swanbeck ~ Kevin Spacey, Danny DeVito, Peter Facinelli, Paul Dawson

Terrific existential angst study done by two of the best actors working today, Kevin Spacy as desperate Larry and Danny DeVito as worn-out Phil.... long time salesmen buddies hoping to make the one big killer sale that had eluded both of their mediocre careers to date and that would make everything seemingly right again. The location for the film was exactingly placed in a bland hotel in bland Wichita, Kansas, a worthy stand-in metaphor for the nothingness of existence where the great things of life are in very short supply for these two good friends who are impatiently waiting for the fabled company president Dick Fuller to arrive to provide that life saving big sale that would give them new purpose and reason to feel good about themselves again. Who would ever guess that a big order for industrial lubricants could do that? Transferring very intelligent and talky plays to the screen often doesn't work well, but when it does it is magical and deeply involving. It worked so very well here, and intelligently so, as Spacey and DeVito were wonderful playing off each other as salesmen friends so familiar that talk between them was almost like talking to oneself, or at least to one's wife. It was obvious that they loved each other as well as most marrieds do, as much of their dialogue was similar to that of a married couple, and the story's diverse philosophical meanderings that ranged from marketing to religion to love to marriage to character and to, of course, the meaning of life and the real value of shrimp versus cheese ball snacks, were all the more effective due not only to the well crafted script, but also due to the world-weary resignation of the lead characters playing off their near opposite, a wet-behind-the ears, young company research newbie named Bob who was oddly sent with them to the convention. Bob was innocently sincere and mostly good hearted, but at the same time was cocky and smug about things he knew almost nothing about but thought he knew so well. His gently delivered, but harsh and well-earned comeuppance at the end from DeVito's Phil was the one great thing that I knew all along was coming, and I was so glad when it came down hard on this naive, supercilious, and self-righteous member of the fundamental religious right. But sadly, as he dumbly disagreed with his comeuppance details that were so obviously dead on, Bob was not at that time wise enough to know that he had so much more to learn over the years before he could claim possession of any appreciable amount of human character. From this, such familiar feelings were surely evoked in all of us who once happened to be similarly young and naive as Bob is here. And, as it turned out the same way as in much of real life, the "big sale" was not made. Or.... was it? Truly a philosophical thinking person's film and one to be seen again and again for full value.There was a bit of resolve in what served as an epilogue, as it showed that these three ended up pretty much the same as they began, but somewhat tweaked for the better. Hopefully, like we all do.

I don't get this looking for hidden meanings, etc. in the movies these days. How on earth do you ever enjoy a movie if you're constantly hyperventilating over what this or that "means?" Existentialism just isn't meant to be practiced when you're out to simply escape and enjoy a movie. This is definitely not rocket science! I happened on this movie on a Sunday afternoon and really liked the performances of Spacey and DeVito (can't recall NOT enjoying any performances by either of these two!). The writer(s) actually gave them something to say and it was worth listening to, particularly the last fifteen minutes. A little "foor for thought" doesn't hurt anyone if given in small doses and just now and then. This movie provides just that. I was struck by the relevancy of what was said to today's headlines, particularly the comments made by DeVito's character re conversations trying to convince people of Godly points of view being ad men's pitches. Amen!