The Big White (2005)

Outstanding performances are delivered by an all-star cast in this quirky black comedy centered on Paul Barnell (Robin Williams), a down on his luck Alaska travel agent who's on the brink of bankruptcy and whose beloved wife, Margaret (Holly Hunter), is on the brink of insanity.

So what's a nice guy with good intentions but bad business sense to do? The answer lies frozen in a dumpster outside of Barnell Great Escapes—a dead body Paul hopes to pass off as his long-lost brother Raymond (Woody Harrelson) and then collect on the life insurance. Unfortunately, investigator Ted Watters (Giovanni Ribisi – Lost in Translation) who's anxious to transfer back to the lower 48 with his girlfriend (Alison Lohman – Where the Truth Lies), isn't about to let Barnell walk away with a million bucks.

Adding to Paul's avalanche of problems are two aspiring hit men-turned-kidnappers (Tim Blake Nelson and W. Earl Brown) and the stunning return of the supposedly dead Raymond, who now has an ax to grind with his brother. Desperation is running high in the "big white," and if Paul is smart, he'll blow the snow, take the money and run… to South America.

In The Big White, a failing Alaskan travel agent hopes he's found the answer to his problems when a couple of thugs leave a dead body in a dumpster outside his business. The lack of a body has prevented Paul Barnell (Robin Williams, The Birdcage, One Hour Photo) from claiming his missing brother's life insurance. Unfortunately, the thugs who dumped the body in the first place (Tim Blake Nelson, O Brother, Where Art Thou?, and W. Earl Brown, Deadwood) want it back, so they kidnap Barnell's wife (Holly Hunter, Raising Arizona), who may or may not have Tourette's Syndrome.

Meanwhile, an obsessive insurance agent (Giovanni Ribisi, Saving Private Ryan) smells something fishy and thinks he's found the case that will get him and his phone psychic girlfriend (Alison Lohman, White Oleander) transferred to warmer climes, and Barnell's long-missing brother (Woody Harrelson, White Men Can't Jump) returns, a bit perturbed to learn he's dead. 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