Starring: Robin Williams, Holly Hunter, Giovanni Ribisi, Woody Harrelson
Cert: 15
Released: 24th March 2006

Paul Barnell (Williams) runs a travel agency in Alaska. Business is slow which means money is tight and he is desperate to get some quickly as his wife, Margaret (Hunter), is suffering from some form of dementia - possibly tourettes - and he wants to get her the best treatment available as well as pay off all his debtors.

There is a potential cash resource in the shape of his brother Raymond's (Harrelson) life insurance policy. He's been missing for 5 years but Alaskan State law says that a person can't be certified as dead until they are missing for 7 years. Paul will have to wait another two years before he can get his hands on that.

As a matter of coincidence, two hitmen (W. Earl Brown and Tim Blake Nelson) decide to store a body in the dumpster outside of Paul's shop. Paul accidentally discovers it, steals it and plans an elaborate set-up to use it as the corpse of his missing brother.

Although the police are satisfied with the identification of what's left of the body (by the time they find it), insurance agent Ted Watters (Ribbisi) smells something suspicious in the convenience of the body showing up a day after Paul's claim. Ted continues to investigate behind the scenes even though his company has decided to pay out the $1 million policy.

Ted just gets himself into trouble with his work and his girlfriend, Tiffany (Alison Lohman), by chasing the case whilst Paul's problems escalate when the hitmen come looking for their body. They move into his house and hold Margaret hostage until he returns the goods and a portion of the money. On top of that, sociopathic Raymond returns looking for some fraternal retribution and a fair share of the settlement.

I was trying to remember the last time Williams starred in an out-and-out comedy. I had it in my head that it was Father's Day in 1997. I was wrong. Aside from Death To Smoochy in 2002 (anyone?) it was actually Flubber in 1997. This is a welcome return to Williams' comedic abilities even though The Big White is an incredibly understated film and even though he hasn't specifically got, 'the comedy lead'.

Promoted as 'An Ice Cold Black Comedy,' The Big White is nigh on faultless. There must be something about the desolate snowy wastes that provide the perfect backdrop to gruesome comedies á la Fargo. Each performance is unique and evokes it's own level of comedy and sympathy.

Williams and Ribbisi both share the put upon, 'straight man' role even though they are technically the leading rivals of the film. Then again, everyone seems to be against Williams' character; he is so low on luck he is reduced to such extreme measures as storing a corpse in his freezer. Even at his lowest moments the script is able to drag him, believable, lower still and, unfortunately, you can't help but laugh.

Ribbisi is not only dedicated to his job but also so desperate to get a transfer that he will do anything to bring down this $1M policy fraud. The jobsworthiness of him dictates that he deserves almost everything that comes to him; if he had just left well alone…

Harrelson is a backward hick whose answer to everything that he can't handle verbally (which is about everything) is to hit it. Completely devoid of any compassion or loyalty, he is the loose cannon capable of anything.

Brown and Nelson are a couple of amateur hitmen out to impress their boss with their latest mission but not quite hard enough to be able to handle the situation or Hunter's wayward psychosis.

Which brings me to the star or the film. Hunter is hilarious. To watch this petite woman swearing fiercer than Roy Chubby Brown (at one stage to a 12 year old boy) is eye-wateringly funny. She is oblivious to the nature of most things around her and so the invasion of her house is something that she takes with a pinch of salt and a barrage of expletives.

A delightful film with a perfect balance of humour and pathos that has you sympathising with eveyone involved. Even the bad guy right at the end.