The Big Fix

PG

1978

1h 48m

Comedy

Drama

List

88%

16 Reviews

Tomatometer

49%

250+ Ratings

Audience Score

Misfit private investigator and single father Moses Wine (Richard Dreyfuss) is tapped by his former college flame, Lila Shay (Susan Anspach), to dig into a political smear attack on the campaign she oversees. What starts out as a seemingly run-of-the-mill attempt at dirty politics evolves into a plot involving an unsolved murder; former 1960s radical leader Howard Eppis (F. Murray Abraham), who has settled into suburban life; and a terrorist plan to explode a Los Angeles freeway.

Read More

Read Less

Audience Member

Based on Roger L. Simon's novel starring Richard Dreyfuss, Bonnie Bedelia, and John Lithgow, F. Murray Abraham Moses Wine is a private investigator and a single father His former flame Lila gives him a simple job digging into a political smear attack on a campaign But it turns out to be much more dangerous; much of what Moses stumbles into involves an unsolved murder of a former 1960s radical leader Howard Eppis and a terrorists plan to explode an LA freeway Can Moses solve the case and protect his family? It's a slick mystery full of labyrinths but Abraham doesn't show up until an hour and a half into the movie Dreyfuss makes the material watchable being that he can blow the whistle on his friends since they all had revolutionary backgrounds Sometimes that bites back hard The last half is the best past where everyone is racing to stop the bomb threat A comedic noir with a bit of an edge added with dirty politics as well as family strife Not great but good enough of a 70's detective story

Rated 3.5 out of 5 stars

10/09/23

Full Review

Steve D

Wildly inconsistent in both tone and quality.

Rated 2 out of 5 stars

08/14/23

Full Review

steven a

Simon adapted his own novel, altering the ending at the studio's behest. He draws on Watergate in his portrayal of shady political dealings and blends it with Chandler-esque mystery elements and a detective hero as much of his time as Marlowe had been. Where Simon diverges from the source inspiration of his creation is that he allows Wine to have a full backstory and often saddles him with his kids from his failed marriage, as ex-wife Bedelia forges a new life for herself. This, along with Dreyfuss' wisecracking and cynical character, gives the film a comedic overtone as it slowly builds the plot almost as an afterthought. Karin is a comic delight as Wine's politically opinionated aunt. Kagan directs efficiently and handles the shifting of tone into the final act skilfully, but the plot can often feel secondary to the character study of Wine, rendering it even more convoluted than it needs to be, resulting in an entertaining but frustrating viewing experience.

Rated 3 out of 5 stars

03/30/23

Full Review

Audience Member

It's an overly byzantine neo-noir set in (and emotionally flat as) sunny Los Angeles about disillusioned ex radicals from (and with as many up-and-down twists as) the Bay Area, and not even an energetically hysterical Dreyfuss can fix those self-contradictions.

Rated 2.5 out of 5 stars

01/30/23

Full Review

Audience Member

Obscure and my favourite Dreyfuss movie. This movie is still politically relevant and ADORABLE while making a myriad of points. When Lithgow had hair.

Rated 5 out of 5 stars

01/31/23

Full Review

Audience Member

The Coen Brothers' The Big Lebowski is not the first film to cross a rickety counterculture with the work of a gumshoe. This film, which has yet to put out on DVD, is forgotten and it shouldn't be.

Rated 3.5 out of 5 stars

01/25/23

Full Review

Read all reviews

Post a rating

Jeremy Kagan

Director

Richard Dreyfuss

Moses Wine

Susan Anspach

Lila Shay

Bonnie Bedelia

Suzanne

John Lithgow

Sam Sebastian

Ofelia Medina

Alora

Show Less Cast & Crew

Show More Cast & Crew

View more photos

Jay Scott

Globe and Mail

As a slice of sociologically accurate life, The Big Fix is resonant, compassionate, improbable funny.

Aug 11, 2022

Full Review

Desmond Ryan

Philadelphia Inquirer

Richard Dreyfuss is never a dull actor, and he makes more of Wine and the artificial juxtapositions of "The Big Fix" than we have any right to expect.

Sep 1, 2021

Full Review

Stuart Emmrich

Atlanta Journal-Constitution

The humor is often very funny, and watching Dreyfuss act even when you have seen the same bits before is usually worth the price of admission to the theater.

Sep 1, 2021

Full Review

Eddie Harrison

film-authority.com

...with a great cast and sunny LA location shooting, The Big Fix is worth a hazy, crazy trip down memory lane.

Rated: 3/5

Mar 5, 2022

Full Review

Malcolm Johnson

Hartford Courant

Dreyfuss' neat and low-key balancing of the comic and more poignant aspects of Wine's personality provides an engaging center for "The Big Fix" even when it threatens to become too confusing to let us keep track of its plots and counterplots.

Sep 1, 2021

Full Review

Stanley Eichelbaum

San Francisco Examiner

If you can accept Dreyfuss In a role inherited from Humphrey Bogart, you'll have no problem liking the film.

Rated: 3/4

Sep 1, 2021

Full Review

Read all reviews

Synopsis

Misfit private investigator and single father Moses Wine (Richard Dreyfuss) is tapped by his former college flame, Lila Shay (Susan Anspach), to dig into a political smear attack on the campaign she oversees. What starts out as a seemingly run-of-the-mill attempt at dirty politics evolves into a plot involving an unsolved murder; former 1960s radical leader Howard Eppis (F. Murray Abraham), who has settled into suburban life; and a terrorist plan to explode a Los Angeles freeway.

Director: Jeremy Kagan
Screenwriter: Roger L. Simon
Production Co: Universal/Universal Int
Rating: PG
Genre: Comedy, Drama
Original Language: English
Runtime: 1h 48m