Search
What's Hot
Day-by-Day Fall Schedule
Idol Winner Speaks!
Jim Parsons Comes Out
Game of Thrones Star's Sex Stare

Bigger Than The Sky

2005, Movie, PG-13, 106 mins

Bigger Than The Sky: Review

starstarstarstar
Movies about community theater are rare, and movies about community theater that aren't dedicated to mocking the delusions of amateur thespians are rarer still, so fans of backstage soap operas will cheer this sincere melodrama. Dumped by yet another girlfriend in Portland, Oregon, sad-sack Peter Rooker (Marcus Thomas) takes comfort in the promotion his slave-driver boss has promised and looks to self-improvement books for a way out of his loneliness and dissatisfaction. Peter's daily rounds take him past a community theater on his daily rounds, and one day he summons up the courage to audition for Edwina Winters (Clare Higgins). Unlike the confident, semi-professional Michael Degan (John Corbett), the backward Peter seems unlikely to get a call-back, even as a sword-carrying extra. But Edwina is planning an unconventional production of Cyrano — she even envisions the hero without a putty nose — and is convinced that she can mold Peter's self-effacing honesty into a performance. Michael and leading lady Grace Hargrave (Amy Smart), broaden Peter's horizons, on and off stage; unfortunately, late-night rehearsals don't sit well with Peter's employer, who unsuccessfully pressures Peter to quit the show. But Peter proves too repressed to shake off his inhibitions, forcing Edwina to acknowledge that casting him was an act of hubris; she replaces him with veteran player Ken Zorbell (Sean Astin), and Peter meekly steps aside. Content to be a background player, he watches as hammy Ken argues with Edwina's interpretation of the text and postures his way through the role. With or without a prosthetic proboscis, Edwina's production never jells: Can Peter summon up sufficient self-awareness to throw caution to the wind, step back into the part and save the day? Screenwriter Rodney Vaccaro ladles on the "no business like show business" with heavy hand, but his cast relishes the opportunity to play them straight. Only the most hard-hearted moviegoer could sneer at dorky Peter's eventual (and inevitable) triumph: Theater becomes humanity's great leveler and the film makes a convincing case for the old theatrical saw that there are no small parts, only small actors. leave a comment --Robert Pardi
Are You Watching?
Bigger Than The Sky
Loading ...
Advertisement

Our Partners

Advertisement

Related Websites

You might be also interested in the following websites:

Most Popular TV Shows

  1. American Idol
  2. NCIS
  3. Big Bang Theory
  4. Voice
  5. Person of Interest
more popular tv shows

Most Popular Celebrities

  1. Jessica Simpson
  2. Khloe Kardashian
  3. Kate Middleton
  4. Maria Menounos
  5. Kim Kardashian
more popular celebrities

Most Popular Movies

  1. Avengers
  2. Battleship
  3. The Dictator
  4. Dark Shadows
  5. What To Expect When You're Expecting
more popular movies

Top Videos

  1. Revenge
  2. Sneak Peek: Motor City Money
  3. The Big Bang Theory
  4. Modern Family
  5. Mom of the Fleet
more top videos