The Big Picture

PG-13

1989

1h 40m

Comedy

List

88%

24 Reviews

Tomatometer

45%

2,500+ Ratings

Audience Score

Hollywood beckons for recent film school grad Nick Chapman (Kevin Bacon), who is out to capitalize on the momentum from his national award-winning student film. Studio executive Allen Habel (J.T. Walsh) seduces Nick with a dream deal to make his first feature, but once production gets rolling, corporate reality begins to intervene: Nick is unable to control a series of compromises to his high-minded vision, and it's all he can do to maintain his integrity in the midst of filmmaking chaos.

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Critics Consensus

The Big Picture aims at targets that might not be familiar to viewers who aren't well-versed in movie-biz chicanery, but hits most of them so solidly that laughter is the only option.

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Jerod S

Bacon's journey into the film world as a promising student is wild, but not wildly funny.

Rated 2.5 out of 5 stars

04/21/24

Full Review

David F

This insider comedy about Hollywood has little to recommend it. Kevin Bacon is a film student who wins a student film award and then gets courted by producers and agents (one of whom is Martin Short in a hilarious role as a weirdo agent - really the only good thing about this film). He experiences the ups and downs of moviemaking, and there are some impressive cameos, but for some reason the film just doesn't work.

Rated 1 out of 5 stars

03/12/23

Full Review

Audience Member

3.5. Interesting depiction of the vultures and parasites that are Hollywood . And also how a little success can get to some people and make them forget about everything that got them there and everything deemed important

Rated 3.5 out of 5 stars

11/22/20

Full Review

michael a

Loved this movie. Entertaining, and sarcastic, and enjoyable throughout. This pic is a little quirky in places, but overall captures some pretty good characters in a specific time and place in their burgeoning careers. Of course, I don't expect that Hollywood would embrace this one, but the characters are amazingly done. And we get a happy Hollywood ending. Abe and the Babe though really, hahahahahahahaha. Too funny. Christopher Guest ( the man of a thousand faces) shows us why he's so talented.

Rated 4 out of 5 stars

03/31/23

Full Review

Audience Member

I love movies. I don't love this movie about films. A not funny satire about Hollywood

Rated 1.5 out of 5 stars

02/13/23

Full Review

Audience Member

so what exactly is the big picture when it comes to working in the movie industry? that's a real conundrum for Nick Chapman when he wants to make his next big project Kevin Bacon, Teri Hatcher, Fran Drescher, and Martin Short Chapman just won an award for his previous film so he hopes to gain the funds for another however, when he pitches his idea of a love triangle of people in their 40's the executives are not on board with it they even strive to make some changes to make it better; for Chapman he's befuddled by his original vision being altered he even spends a majority of his thoughts imagining them like certain classic film moments and how he approaches a tough dilemma it's kind of a neat stylistic approach and given that Chapman is a recent grad student in the industry he's anything but prepared for how Hollywood operates along the way though he learns to develop his own creative vision thereby ignoring all the powerful executives who shunned him in the first place even for aspiring filmmakers we all need to follow our own path to reach the potential we dream of, not just do what others say or have to the film has goofy music, really good actors, clever filmmaking techniques, a fast pace, and shows us why a lot of promising directors get rejected at first but still pursue their own way of living the dream this is very good inspiration for people majoring in the field and another success for Kevin Bacon himself

Rated 4 out of 5 stars

01/22/23

Full Review

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Christopher Guest

Director

Kevin Bacon

Nick Chapman

Emily Longstreth

Susan Rawlings

J.T. Walsh

Allen Habel

Jennifer Jason Leigh

Lydia Johnson

Martin Short

Neil Sussman

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Jonathan Rosenbaum

Chicago Reader

[A] hilariously canny 1989 satire about contemporary filmmaking in Hollywood.

Feb 2, 2016

Full Review

Variety Staff

Variety

Befitting two of the co-authors of This is Spinal Tap, Guest and Michael McKean, The Big Picture displays a keen eye for the silliness of film biz customs, lingo and attitudes.

Mar 11, 2009

Full Review

Nigel Floyd

Time Out

The movie references may strike some as in-jokey, but Guest's likeable film has enough jaundiced sideswipes and lighter chuckles to see it through its slacker spells.

Feb 9, 2006

Full Review

David Nusair

Reel Film Reviews

...generally feels like a short that's been awkwardly expanded to feature length...

Rated: 2/4

Mar 23, 2020

Full Review

Dennis Schwartz

Dennis Schwartz Movie Reviews

A genial and funny satire/comedy about an up-and-coming student filmmaker.

Rated: B

Mar 21, 2016

Full Review

Ralph Novak

People Magazine

Partly romance, partly fantasy, partly satire on what passes for life in Hollywood -- and all charm -- this movie even has a perfect title.

Feb 2, 2016

Full Review

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Synopsis

Hollywood beckons for recent film school grad Nick Chapman (Kevin Bacon), who is out to capitalize on the momentum from his national award-winning student film. Studio executive Allen Habel (J.T. Walsh) seduces Nick with a dream deal to make his first feature, but once production gets rolling, corporate reality begins to intervene: Nick is unable to control a series of compromises to his high-minded vision, and it's all he can do to maintain his integrity in the midst of filmmaking chaos.

Director: Christopher Guest
Production Co: Aspen Film Society
Rating: PG-13
Genre: Comedy
Original Language: English
Release Date (Streaming): Apr 1, 2010
Box Office (Gross USA): $33.1K
Runtime: 1h 40m
Sound Mix: Surround, Stereo

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