the big white movie review

Log in or sign up for Rotten Tomatoes

Trouble logging in?

By continuing, you agree to the Privacy Policy and the Terms and Policies , and to receive email from the Fandango Media Brands .

By creating an account, you agree to the Privacy Policy and the Terms and Policies , and to receive email from Rotten Tomatoes and to receive email from the Fandango Media Brands .

By creating an account, you agree to the Privacy Policy and the Terms and Policies , and to receive email from Rotten Tomatoes.

Email not verified

Let's keep in touch.

Sign up for the Rotten Tomatoes newsletter to get weekly updates on:

Upcoming Movies and TV shows
Trivia & Rotten Tomatoes Podcast
Media News + More

By clicking "Sign Me Up," you are agreeing to receive occasional emails and communications from Fandango Media (Fandango, Vudu, and Rotten Tomatoes) and consenting to Fandango's Privacy Policy and Terms and Policies . Please allow 10 business days for your account to reflect your preferences.

OK, got it!

Movies / TV

No results found.

What's the Tomatometer®?
Login/signup

Movies in theaters

Opening this week
Top box office
Coming soon to theaters
Certified fresh movies

Movies at home

Fandango at Home
Netflix streaming
Prime Video
Most popular streaming movies
What to Watch New

Certified fresh picks

Challengers Link to Challengers
I Saw the TV Glow Link to I Saw the TV Glow
Música Link to Música

New TV Tonight

Shardlake: Season 1
Hacks: Season 3
The Tattooist of Auschwitz: Season 1
The Veil: Season 1
A Man in Full: Season 1
Acapulco: Season 3
Welcome to Wrexham: Season 3
John Mulaney Presents: Everybody's in LA: Season 1
Star Wars: Tales of the Empire: Season 1
My Next Guest Needs No Introduction With David Letterman: Season 4.2

The Big White Reviews

A lame Fargo wannabe. Despite Robin Williams and a decent supporting cast, this was barely released to theaters, and it's easy to see why.

Full Review | Original Score: 3/10 | Jul 13, 2007

A cross-between "Raising Arizona" and "The Big Lebowski". A good film.

Full Review | Original Score: 3/5 | Nov 7, 2006

It's one of those movies that wants to be hip, but winds up being irritating in a pretentious, poseur sort of way.

Full Review | Original Score: 2/5 | Jun 5, 2006

Though it's better than Robin Williams' recent theatrical hit R.V., it still doesn't quite click.

Full Review | Jun 2, 2006

a very good and underrated little movie, full of black comedy, clever coincidences and plot twists

Full Review | Original Score: 3.5/5 | May 30, 2006

Full Review | Original Score: 2/5 | Apr 1, 2006

Enjoyably quirky thriller with bizarre, off-the-wall performances from its entire cast and some striking location work.

Full Review | Original Score: 3/5 | Mar 23, 2006

March of the Penguins was funnier and edgier.

Full Review | Dec 15, 2005

Snowed under by misjudgment on every level, The Big White is DOA.

Full Review | Nov 16, 2005

Never completely finds its balance.

Full Review | Oct 10, 2005

COMING SOON
OUT NOW - US
COMING SOON - US

COMPETITIONS

Eye For Film >> Movies >> The Big White (2005) Film Review

The Big White

Reviewed by: Moominkat

This quirky comedy-drama is set in the frozen wastes of Alaska and, despite bearing more than a passing resemblance to Fargo , both in style and content, it is still enjoyable. It was also reminiscent of Mystery, Alaska - a film about a quarrelsome hick ice-hockey team - but in fact just about any TV series or movie involving people living in the wilds of Canada will spring to mind. Don't let that put you off. This film is funny, with slapstick and moments of off-beat humour, and has real drama and a gentle sweetness running through it.

Paul Burnell (Robin Williams) is married to Margaret (Holly Hunter) and they a make a lovely, if rather dull and frowsty couple. He's doing his best to make life as good as it can be, given that Margaret suffers from a combination of undiagnosed mental illnesses that none of the experts seem to be able to diagnose.

She displays on and off Tourette's with a side serving of pottiness. In the extras section, Williams describes Margaret as "part ferret, part child", which just about captures her. Her illness has drained Paul's resources, he's at his wits end as to how he'll continue to pay for her treatment, his travel business is going under and he can't even pay the electricity bill on his shop. So he decides to cash in on the life assurance policy he'd taken out on his long-missing brother, hell-raiser Raymond (Woody Harrelson).

Unfortunately, as he's informed curtly by Ted (Giovanni Ribisi) the insurance claims adjuster, no body equals no payout. Raymond's been missing for five years and death can only be assumed after seven. So when Paul comes across an unknown frozen body in a dumpster in the car park outside his shop, (cached earlier by two hitmen), he's desperate enough to take it home to dispose of later, so that the body can be found and he can make the claim. Naturally, weaselly Ted's suspicious. He makes life hell for Paul, who finds himself running the gauntlet of Ted, the hitmen and his long-lost brother, who reads about his demise in a newspaper and comes home to collect his share of the payout.

It's a gentle farce, which works because the characters are so nicely conveyed, you do hope things will work out. And it's fabulous listening to a foul-mouthed Holly Hunter delivering her lines with aplomb: "Say hello to your slut mother" she tells the paper boy with a sweet smile when he collects his money. And that's the politest example.

The Big White

Time out says, release details.

Release date: Friday 24 March 2006

An email you’ll actually love

Discover Time Out original video

Press office
Investor relations
Work for Time Out
Editorial guidelines
Privacy notice
Do not sell my information
Cookie policy
Accessibility statement
Terms of use
Modern slavery statement
Manage cookies
Advertising

Time Out Worldwide

All Time Out Locations
North America
South America
South Pacific

IMAGES

The Big White (2005)
‎The Big White (2005) directed by Mark Mylod • Reviews, film + cast
The Big White (2005)
DVD & Blu-ray: THE BIG WHITE (2005) Starring Robin Williams and
The Big White (Movie, 2005)
The Big White

VIDEO

Believed he was talking to a white guy😅 #movie #series
مراجعة فيلم "The White Tiger" بدون حرق
Great White 2021
The Big White. 2005 Dark Comedy Movie Review. Robin Williams Woody Harrelson Holly Hunter
The White Tiger: A Good Film BUT Does It MISREPRESENT Indian Society?
The Big White

COMMENTS

The Big White (2005)
The Big White: Directed by Mark Mylod. With Robin Williams, Holly Hunter, Giovanni Ribisi, Tim Blake Nelson. To remedy his financial problems, a travel agent has his eye on a frozen corpse, which just happens to be sought after by two hitmen.
The Big White
Nov 16, 2005. TOP CRITIC. Oct 10, 2005. Rated: 3/10 • Jul 13, 2007. Rated: 3/5 • Nov 7, 2006. Rated: 2/5 • Jun 5, 2006. An indebted travel agent (Robin Williams) tries to land $1 million by ...
The Big White (2005)
8/10. Fargoesque! Fist_of_Heaven 21 September 2005. The Big White focus on travel agent Paul Barnell (Robin Williams), and him trying to overcome his financial dilemmas. After failing to cash out the insurance policy of his brother, who is missing since 5 years and assumed dead, he stumbles across a frozen corpse.
The Big White
The Big White is a 2005 black comedy film directed by Mark Mylod starring Robin Williams, Holly Hunter, Giovanni Ribisi, Woody Harrelson, Tim Blake Nelson, W. Earl Brown and Alison Lohman.. In a podcast interview with Marc Maron in 2010, Williams admitted that during filming, he started drinking again after 20 years of sobriety. This would lead to a stint in rehab in 2006.
The Big White
Despite Robin Williams and a decent supporting cast, this was barely released to theaters, and it's easy to see why. Full Review | Original Score: 3/10 | Jul 13, 2007. Caffeinated Clint Moviehole ...
The Big White
The Big White - Metacritic. Summary A destitute Alaskan travel agent with a deranged wife finds the answer to his financial problems in the form of a get rich quick insurance scam involving a frozen body in the dumpster behind his office. Just a few things stand in his way -- a determined insurance investigator, an irate sibling and two would ...
BBC
The Big White (2006) Reviewed by David Mattin. Updated 20 March 2006. Contains strong language and violence. Set in Alaska, British director Mark Mylod's off-beat comedy The Big White wants to be ...
The Big White (2005) Movie Review from Eye for Film
Reviewed by: David Stanners. Think Fargo, but not quite as dark and not half as good. This is the Big White, a dark twisted comedy set in Alaska about Paul Barnell (Robin Williams), a struggling travel agent, whose strategy to fake the death of his long-vanished brother and claim the insurance policy, takes a few unexpected detours. Two locals ...
The Big White (2005)
Film Movie Reviews The Big White — 2005. The Big White. 2005. 1h 40m. Comedy/Crime/Drama. Advertisement. Cast.
The Big White Review
The Big White Review Down on his luck travel agent Paul Barnell (Williams) has no sooner unsuccessfully tried to cash in the insurance policy on his brother - missing for five years - than he ...
The Big White (2005) Movie Review from Eye for Film
Don't let that put you off. This film is funny, with slapstick and moments of off-beat humour, and has real drama and a gentle sweetness running through it. Paul Burnell (Robin Williams) is married to Margaret (Holly Hunter) and they a make a lovely, if rather dull and frowsty couple. He's doing his best to make life as good as it can be, given ...
The Big White 2006
Frozen Alaska, and Robin Williams' cash-strapped travel agent is locked in conflict with stubborn insurance agent Giovanni Ribisi, who's just rejected his claim
The Big White
The Big White Snowed under by misjudgment on every level, "The Big White" is DOA. Despite a cast that generally reads like an indie production's wish list, pic's tendency to liberally borrow from ...
"The Big White" Review
The Big White: Directed by Mark Mylod. With Robin Williams, Holly Hunter, Giovanni Ribisi, Tim Blake Nelson. To remedy his financial problems, a travel agent has his eye on a frozen corpse, which just happens to be sought after by two hitmen.
The Big White (2005)
Desperate to help himself and his beloved, mentally ill wife Margaret, Paul discovers a dead body and passes it off as his missing brother Raymond, whose life is insured for up to $1,000,000. Everybody is duped, except for workaholic insurance investigator Ted Waters, who sets out to expose Paul, in hopes of being promoted out of Alaska.
The Big White (2005)
Visit the movie page for 'The Big White' on Moviefone. Discover the movie's synopsis, cast details and release date. Watch trailers, exclusive interviews, and movie review.
Everything You Need to Know About The Big White Movie (2006)
The Big White on DVD June 6, 2006 starring Robin Williams, Giovanni Ribisi, James Woods, Holly Hunter. "The Big White" is set in Alaska and follows a hapless travel agent whose wife suffers from psychosomatic Tourette's syndrome. Con.
The Big White review
The Big White review. By Total Film. published 24 March 2006. ... GAME REVIEWS MOVIE REVIEWS TV REVIEWS. 1. Open Roads review: "A cozy, nostalgic road trip that can't quite get into gear" 2.
The Big White (Movie, 2005)
The Big White plot "When you need somebody, anybody will do." Paul Barnell is a bungling travel agent with a sick wife. His wife suffers from Tourette's Syndrome and Paul hopes that a move to a warmer place can provide a solution to his wife's uncontrollable swearing and name-calling.
The Big White (2005) Stream and Watch Online
Released December 3rd, 2005, 'The Big White' stars Robin Williams, Holly Hunter, Giovanni Ribisi, Tim Blake Nelson The R movie has a runtime of about 1 hr 40 min, and received a user score of 62 ...
The Big White
The Big White suffers from an overload of quirkiness--phone psychics, Tourette's, and possibly gay hit men are a lot of whimsy for one movie--but the actors commit themselves to their roles with gusto. The movie misses the bullseye that Fargo hit, but fans of macabre comedy may enjoy The Big White. --Bret Fetzer
Watch The Big White Streaming Online
The Big White has a running time of 1 hour and 45 mins. Stream it on Peacock. Pick Your Plan. Cancel Anytime. Monthly Annual (Get 12 ... a small amount of programming will still contain ads (Peacock channels, events and a few shows and movies). Stream new movies, hit shows, exclusive Originals, live sports, WWE, news, and more. Join Peacock ...
Spy x Family Code: White's Most Disgusting Joke Works For One Big Reason
Spy x Family's first feature film, CODE: White, managed to make the franchise's most disgusting joke work for one big reason.While the premise for Spy x Family lends itself to some pretty thrilling scenes for action fans, Spy x Family is, at its heart, a comedy. The way each member of the Forger family plays off each other can be absolutely hysterical, with their funniest moments being the ...
Conflicting Reports on Disney's SNOW WHITE Say the Movie ...
There are two inside sources that have conflicting reports about what is going on with Disney's live-action Snow White movie.. I expected to see some footage from this film at CinemaCon last week during Disney's big presentation, but they didn't show off anything from the film, and it has finished production, even having gone through extensive reshoots.
Colin Jost Roasts Biden, the Press and Gets Sentimental at White House
The co-host of 'Saturday Night Live's "Weekend Update" was the headliner at a banquet teeming with celebrities, politicians and journalists for the media's big night in D.C. By Kevin Dolak The ...
Back to Black (2024)
Back to Black: Directed by Sam Taylor-Johnson. With Marisa Abela, Jack O'Connell, Eddie Marsan, Lesley Manville. The life and music of Amy Winehouse, through the journey of adolescence to adulthood and the creation of one of the best-selling albums of our time.