Food and foodie culture is so prevalent and advanced now that we sometimes forget how recent of a phenomenon it is that so many Americans can fluently converse about craft beers or even know what kimchi is. In a world where food shows are unscripted TV’s fastest growing content, we take it for granted that there’s generally a baseline level of culinary knowledge these days of what paella or gnocchi is.
This was less true 25 years ago, when Campbell Scott’s and Stanley Tucci’s Big Night was released, which was set in 1950s Jersey Shore, about two Italian immigrant brothers struggling to keep their restaurant afloat. Primo (Tucci) is the pragmatic businessman while Secondo (Tony Shalhoub) is the idealist chef – even the wordplay of their names works better in an age where more people are familiar with the structure of an Italian menu and meal. One of the memorable early scenes occurs when a couple tries to send back the risotto (“I thought this was a rice dish”) and simply can’t comprehend why an order of spaghetti doesn’t come with meatballs (leading to the great line “sometimes spaghetti likes to be alone”).
In 2021, Secondo might be a James Beard award-winning chef, but in the 1950s, he is relegated to a frustrated artist who hates that he must cater to customers’ Philistine palates and expectations. Meanwhile, the Americanized Italian restaurant across the street (which looks suspiciously like a Buca di Beppo) is extremely popular and raking in business. In a final effort to save their flagging restaurant, the brothers arrange to have celebrity musician Louis Prima dine at their restaurant, and plan a special night around this in hopes of turning the restaurant’s fortunes around.
The cast is full of impressive character actors (though it is a shame that Minnie Driver and Isabella Rosselini weren’t given a chance to do a little more), but the real star is the food. When the third act rolls around and the food is being cooked, you can feel the dough and smell the spices. As it is finally being served in the traditional Italian multi-course manner, you experience the laughter, the flowing wine, the lively Italian music and the endless dishes. It doesn’t just capture the deliciousness of the food but the immersiveness of the whole expeirence. You may start out hungry but there are so many dishes served that you end up almost feeling stuffed. The highlight is the timpano, which still amazes as the rare, almost mythical dish that these days would inspire long lines, Twitter buzz, and rhapsodizing Yelp reviews.
Big Night is one of the best food movies of all time, but more than that, it is a restaurant movie. Most similar movies these days are about tortured genius chefs chasing Michelin stars, or finding freedom in your food (like Jon Favreau’s Chef), but Big Night goes for something a little less obvious by focusing on the restaurant aspect. The central theme and conflict is one of art versus commerce, of authenticity versus success, is symbolized in the two brothers, and how we go back and forth between the front of the house and back of the house, in a piercing look at the food industry. Restauranteuring is a business, and there is no pretending otherwise here.
The second layer of this independent film is about family and differing values. The brothers are pursuing the American Dream, but what happens when you find out that you partner’s dream isn’t the same as yours? What do you have to give up or compromise to achieve it? There are little touches that underscore the authenticity of this immigrant experience, like the realism of slipping in and out of English and Italian in the conversations. It is a constant back-and-forth negotiation. At one point, Secondo begs Primo: “Give to people what they want. Then later, you can give them what you want.”
Big Night is capped with a poignant final scene the day after that, against all odds, is not a comedown from the loud, messy unforgettable big night, even though it is a contrast in every sense of the word. The long take is a wonderful bookend to the film, again shifting to the back of the room and the physical and emotional exhaustion of the night before, speaking how draining it is to be constantly fighting for survival, and a reminder of how food brings people together.
All analysis aside, Big Night is a fun comedy-drama – a little hokey at times but genuinely enjoyable and warm. At the same time, it can be understood as an allegory about movies too. Food culture has advanced a lot these days – and this film played its role – but what about our moviegoing habits? How many mindless popcorn flicks (spaghetti and meatballs) are we demanding, at the expense of an interesting and authentic meal? The beauty of the Big Night is that it gives us both entertainment and depth – we can have our timpano and eat it too.
