Every now and then, especially on a college campus, one will encounter people that try too hard. They wear their cool clothes, listen to their cool music and do anything they can to fit in with the cool crowd, but for some reason, whatever they do, they come across as fake and ridiculous. “The Big Bounce” is kind of like those people. If someone were to simply describe this movie one may think that it had some potential. It just doesn’t turn out that way though. “The Big Bounce” is a big screen adaptation of a novel by Elmore Leonard, who is the author responsible for the stories behind films such as “Get Shorty” and “Jackie Brown.” The movie opens in Hawaii where Jack Ryan, a small time crook (played by Owen Wilson), is working construction. After a fight with the foreman, Ryan finds himself in jail and without work. He is bailed out by Walter Crewes (Morgan Freeman), a judge and local resort owner, who in turn offers him work. He then becomes involved with an attractive local girl (Sara Foster), who just happens to have the perfect plan to steal two hundred thousand dollars from Ray Ritchie (Gary Sinise), a powerful real estate giant. Where movies like “Get Shorty” and “Jackie Brown” succeeded, “The Big Bounce” failed miserably. The story was not particularly interesting or clever. Similarly, the characters (with the exception of Jack Ryan) were underdeveloped and lacked the quirkiness that can usually be expected from Elmore Leonard. This is a huge letdown, considering the talented cast (On a related note, Sara Foster needs to thank her lucky stars she has her looks. She doesn’t have much in the way of acting ability). One has to wonder if the actors actually read the script before they signed on to do the movie or if they just needed an excuse to go to Hawaii for a while. Even Elmore Leonard has been quoted as saying he did not like the movie. If a movie is based on somebody’s story and that somebody does not like the end result, it’s not a good sign. This may be a little too harsh, as the entire movie was not all bad. There are definitely some funny parts, and Owen Wilson is hilarious. “The Big Bounce” will not go down in history as a cinematic achievement, but it was not the worst movie ever made. It was just marred with mediocrity, and it’s too easy to expect more from this cast and creator.