Steal Big Steal Little Review

Ruben and Robby are twin brothers, adopted by Mona, one of the wealthiest - and most eccentric - women in Santa Barbara. Ruben is devoted to Mona, but Robby is more devoted to her money. So when Mona leaves her fortune and estate to Ruben it starts a battle between brothers that soon leads to madness, mayhem, and even attempted murder.

by Caroline Westbrook |
Published on
Release Date:

01 Jan 1995

Running Time:

112 minutes

Certificate:

12

Original Title:

Steal Big Steal Little

There are two types of bad film: those that become cult classics; and those that, quite frankly, don’t. Fugitive director Andrew Davis’ latest effort, an elaborate fantasy comedy which bombed big-time in the US, is sadly destined for the latter.

The story sees Garcia in dual roles as twin brothers Ruben and Robby Martinez, the former blessed with a heart of gold, the latter a heartless businessman. When their adoptive, fabulously wealthy mother dies, leaving her fortune and acres of land to Ruben, his sibling is naturally none too pleased, sparking off a fierce battle of wills for control of the assets.

All this would be fine if it were so simple, but from the off, subplot upon subplot is piled on, giving prominence to insignificant characters and complicating matters so thoroughly that any ability to follow proceedings is lost early on. And Davis, seemingly unsure as to whether he’s making a screwball comedy, a human rights drama (one of the many strands concerning Ruben’s employment of illegal immigrants) or an action romp, goes for a hybrid of all three, leaving loose ends straggling all over the place and failing to achieve the necessary cogency or lightness of tone.

Garcia, looking as though he would rather be elsewhere, strides through the overlong running time without too much trouble, but in a film in which the rest of the cast is out-acted by a not inconsiderable supporting cast of livestock, even his most devoted of fans will be hard pressed to find

any redeeming features whatsoever.

Terrible
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