2. Raymond 'Ray' Barnell - The Big White (2005)
Just as
Indecent Proposal desperately wanted to be
Fatal Attraction, so
The Big White tries so hard to be
Fargo and fails about as miserably as you can. The film stars Robin Williams as financially troubled travel agent Paul Barnell, who is heavily in debt from trying to cure his wife (Holly Hunter) of Tourette's Syndrome. One day he finds a dead body abandoned in a dumpster, and passes it off as his brother to claim on the brother's insurance policy. All seems fine, until said brother turns up... Directed by Mark Mylod (
Ali G Indahouse),
The Big White is a hugely misjudged black comedy which wrings the very least out of its setup and characters. While it shares the wintery feel of
Fargo, it has none of the Coen Brothers' wit, timing or energy and unlike Fargo, its main female character gets nothing to do. Harrelson's performance, however, is one of its worst qualities: it's every lazy hick stereotype rolled into one, delivered without an ounce of empathy or believability.