the point of abandonment. Reception Big Trouble came quietly to American theaters and left quickly afterwards, receiving mixed reviews and being generally ignored by audiences, becoming a box office bomb. On Rotten Tomatoes, it has an approval rating of 48% based on 111 reviews, with an average rating of 5.5/10. The site's consensus is "With its large cast and frantic comic pacing, Big Trouble labors for slapstick-style hilarity, but it never really gains steam." On Metacritic, it has a score of 47% based on reviews from 32 critics, indicating "mixed or average reviews". Audiences polled by CinemaScore gave the film an average grade of "C+" on an A+ to F scale. Joe Leydon of Variety called it "A genially amusing ensemble farce that doesn't quite achieve enough momentum for liftoff." Differences between movie and book In the book, Matthew Arnold, as well as female police officer Monica Ramirez, actually board the plane to rescue Jenny Herk. In the film, Monica Romero never boards the plane. The ending of the book was drastically different, with Walter being left handcuffed with Arthur, Henry and Leonard fighting off an escaped pet python at the airport, and a third police officer helping the FBI agents find the bomb. In the film, when Arthur is squirted with hallucinogens he believes his dog is Martha Stewart (who actually performs the cameo). In the novel, it is Elizabeth Dole. References External links Big Trouble at The Numbers 2000s crime comedy films American crime comedy films Films based on American novels Films directed by Barry Sonnenfeld Films postponed due to the September 11 attacks Films produced by Barry Sonnenfeld Films set in Miami Touchstone Pictures films Films scored by James Newton Howard American black comedy films 2002 comedy films 2002 films Film controversies Disney controversies 2000s English-language films 2000s American films