Big Business - No Expense Spared - Blu-ray

Content: For years, Dan (Vince Vaughn) has worked for his company without complaining. He's put up with the fact that his family has been shortchanged in the process, always hoping that a promotion would give them a better life. But when he is asked to accept a pay cut instead, he is furious. Without further ado, he quits and decides to start his own business. The fired early retiree Timothy (Tom Wilkinson) and the inexperienced Mike (Dave Franco) join him. But the hoped-for success fails to materialize. After a year, a Dunkin` Donuts branch still serves as their office and the trio waits in vain for a big contract. But now it is within their grasp. But his former employer, of all people, could steal the contract from Dan and his team. To secure the deal, the three have to fly all the way to Germany. Thus begins a chaotic trip that could mean the early end for the small company.

Big Business is the second collaboration after The Delivery Man between Vince Vaughn and director Ken Scott, who proved a fine knack for quiet humor of a slightly subtler kind, especially with the delivery man original Starbuck and the screenplay for The Great Seduction (and its remake The Great Temptation). There's little of that in this comedy. The script by Steve Conrad (The Pursuit of Happiness) is bursting with clichés and infantile jokes. This is surprising, as the idea behind the story has the potential to be an adult comedy with satirical overtones. However, instead of exploiting this, the film repeatedly makes use of flat penis jokes and tired clichés.

Although it's a shame that Big Business didn't end up being the film it could have been, this business journey still offers satisfying entertainment value. Despite the flaws in the script, the actors do absolutely fine, with Dave Franco as a somewhat naive freshman and Tom Wilkinson as an early retiree with a new lease on life particularly providing good humour. In addition to the well-performed acting of the ensemble, which is joined at the end by a well-known actor from Germany, a few of the dialogues still provide the solid basis for good laughs.

Interesting is that the dubbing changes these dialogues partly completely. Since some scenes here play with the German language - or what the creators think it is - this was unceremoniously changed in the German dubbed version. The Navi, which is set to German and drives Dan crazy with the word "Flügelschlagen" in the original, speaks Flemish in the dubbed version. And Mike, who learns the word thank you from a pretty German woman on the plane, is told in the dubbed version that he is a long lulat. One thing you have to give the makers of the German language version: such changes were at least very appropriately integrated into the turbulent action and are only noticeable if you listen to both soundtracks.

Who just wants to switch off for 90 minutes and can also laugh with pleasure at coarser gags, who generally likes the comedies of Vince Vaughn and does not expect to get here a profound comedy about the pitfalls of the labor market in times of globalization, will definitely be well entertained. Not the whole big business, but a nice fun with some really good gags is Big Business all the same. Worth seeing!

Picture + Sound: The picture is absolutely clean and also features good to very good detail sharpness in many scenes. The color scheme is coherent and shows its particularly atmospheric side, especially in the outdoor scenes. So there are just as few notable flaws to complain about here as there are with the sound quality. The DTS-HD 5.1 MA mix is pleasantly lively and can convince again and again with good surround moments. The fact that the dialogue in the German language version sounds somewhat central and less harmoniously embedded in the action, as is the case with the original English version, can do little to detract from the positive overall impression. For this, there is a more than satisfied overall: good!

Extras: As a bonus, the Blu-ray has over 30 minutes of deleted and alternative scenes to offer. There's also the trailer, an image gallery, and a brief look at the making of the film (approx. 5:44 min.). If you enjoyed the film, you should definitely check in on the cut scenes.

Conclusion: Big Business is a nice comedy, but it wastes a lot of potential in favor of worn-out clichés and unnecessary zaniness. On balance, though, Dave Franco's delightfully naive acting and some genuinely funny moments make the film worth watching, at least for those viewers who have a soft spot for Vince Vaughn comedies in general. The Blu-ray presents the film in appealing picture and sound quality and also has some nice extra scenes on board. Not a masterpiece, but it's good enough for an entertaining evening at home cinema. Recommendable

An article by Frankfurt-Tipp