The story seems simple at first sight: an Italian restaurant is going under in debt. 2 Italian brothers excell at cooking, but are disastrous at selling their delicous food to the customers, who arent interested in culinary exotics. The further we stroll into the story however, the more we realise as viewers that this movie is more about the love and hate for family bonds. And cooking for your family is equal to showing your love.

There is a natural laid back rythm to this story, that is very mesmirizing. Some of the best moments are those in which nothing is said, when we only see 2 brothers eating and cooking together, in complete silence, symbolising their unspoken love for each other. That is a definite sign of great craftmanship, because there are very few directors who master this kind of story telling without using words.

The end credits mention special thanks to director Robert Altman. That credit goes to show that this movie is a bit more then just an amusing portrait about Italian family bonds. "Big Night" is a director's gem!

New Jersey, 1950s. Two brothers, Primo and Secondo, run an Italian restaurant. Business is not going well as a rival Italian restaurant is out-competing them. In a final effort to save the restaurant, the brothers plan to put on an evening of incredible food.

Wonderful movie. Warm, engaging drama with great character depth and development.

Great work by Tony Shalhoub and Stanley Tucci in the lead roles. Good supporting performances, especially by Minnie Driver.

However, it is the food that steals the show. Looks fantastic and makes you hungry just looking at it.

It's not made clear in the story when it's all taking place, but going by Alberto's (Pasquale Cajano) barbershop prices of a quarter for a shave and seventy five cents for a haircut, I would guess around the 1960's. Hard to imagine how someone could make a living doing that, but those were different times. I had to wonder why the brothers opened an Italian restaurant right across the street from an established rival doing a brisk business, and if you think about it, it's not much of a surprise that Seco Pascal (Ian Holm) would give Primo (Tony Shaloub) and Secondo (Stanley Tucci) a bum steer about Louie Prima showing up at their restaurant's big night. Most of the time Shaloub offers a quirky but likeable performance in his film portrayals but his character here struck me as mostly annoying, in as much he refused to see the practicality of his brother's approach to running a successful operation. I mean really, if he couldn't understand that three varieties of risotto as the main course on their menu might be a turn-off for the average customer, he shouldn't have been in the business. I don't mean to strike such a harsh tone because generally I liked the movie and the ancillary characters who flitted in and out of the story as the situations required. Secondo was a bit of a creep for cheating on his girlfriend (Minnie Driver) the way he did, which leaves me to consider that the most appealing character might have been Cristiano (Marc Anthony),the quiet and unassuming kitchen helper at the restaurant who found romance in dancing with his broom and being a support to the conflicted brothers. He managed to cheerfully stay above the fray through thick and thin.