# The Big Kahuna
**The Big Kahuna** is a 1999 American comedy-drama film directed by John Swanbeck, written by Roger Rueff from his own play *Hospitality Suite*, and starring [Kevin Spacey](https://www.edgepedia.org/kevin-spacey), Danny DeVito, and [Peter Facinelli](https://www.edgepedia.org/peter-facinelli) as three industrial lubricant salesmen who spend one long night in a hotel hospitality suite in Wichita, Kansas, waiting to land a career-making client.[1](https://catalog.afi.com/Catalog/moviedetails/61051) • [2](https://www.awn.com/blog/big-kahuna-1999) Kevin Spacey produced the film as the first project of his company Trigger Street Productions.[3](https://www.latimes.com/archives/la-xpm-2000-apr-25-ca-23027-story.html)
| Key fact | Detail |
|---|---|
| Source | Adapted by Roger Rueff from his play *Hospitality Suite*, which dates from 1991[1](https://catalog.afi.com/Catalog/moviedetails/61051) • [4](https://stevemunro.ca/wp-content/uploads/2006/01/ffrev99c.pdf) |
| Director | John Swanbeck, an experienced stage director making his feature film debut[5](https://www.splicedwire.com/00features/swanbeck.html) |
| Cast | Kevin Spacey as Larry Mann, Danny DeVito as Phil Cooper, Peter Facinelli as Bob Walker[1](https://catalog.afi.com/Catalog/moviedetails/61051) |
| Setting | Almost entirely a 16th-floor hospitality suite in a Wichita, Kansas, hotel, during an industrial lubricant convention[2](https://www.awn.com/blog/big-kahuna-1999) • [6](https://www.styleweekly.com/salesmen-kevin-spacey-and-danny-devito-wait-for-a-godotlike-ceo-in-the-big-kahuna/) |
| Production | Shot in 16 days in February 1999; Swanbeck cited a budget of $1.8 million, while Box Office Mojo lists $7,000,000[7](https://www.worldradiohistory.com/Archive-All-Music/CMJ/New-Music/CMJ-New-Music-2000-05.pdf) • [8](https://rossanthony.com/interviews/devito.shtml) • [9](https://www.boxofficemojo.com/title/tt0189584/) |
| Release | Premiered at the Toronto International Film Festival on September 16, 1999; US theatrical release April 28, 2000, distributed by Lionsgate[10](https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0189584/releaseinfo/) • [9](https://www.boxofficemojo.com/title/tt0189584/) |
| Reception | 73% on the Rotten Tomatoes Tomatometer (77 reviews); Metascore 56 on Metacritic[11](https://www.rottentomatoes.com/m/the_big_kahuna) • [12](https://www.metacritic.com/movie/the-big-kahuna/critic-reviews/) |
## Spoilers
### Plot and characters
Larry Mann (Kevin Spacey) and Phil Cooper ([Danny DeVito](https://www.edgepedia.org/danny-devito)) are veteran salesmen for a foundering industrial lubricant manufacturer. At the annual convention of the Midwest Manufacturers' Association, they wait in their company's hospitality suite for a prospective customer they have privately dubbed "The Big Kahuna" (played uncredited by Ron Komora; the character is named Dick Fuller), whose order could turn the struggling company around.[6](https://www.styleweekly.com/salesmen-kevin-spacey-and-danny-devito-wait-for-a-godotlike-ceo-in-the-big-kahuna/) • [11](https://www.rottentomatoes.com/m/the_big_kahuna) • [13](https://www.justwatch.com/us/movie/the-big-kahuna) To help close the deal they have brought Bob Walker (Peter Facinelli), a neophyte from the company's research division, to supply technical data if needed.[6](https://www.styleweekly.com/salesmen-kevin-spacey-and-danny-devito-wait-for-a-godotlike-ceo-in-the-big-kahuna/)
The complication is that no one at the reception wears a name tag, and the older men cannot spot their target. Bob, an earnest born-again Christian, innocently strikes up a conversation with a guest who turns out to be the client himself, but he talks about his faith and personal matters rather than lubricants.[14](https://watch.afi.com/movie/the-big-kahuna) • [15](https://ink19.com/2000/06/magazine/screen-reviews/e1xdk6-the-big-kahuna) When Larry and Phil learn this, they press Bob on what he said and why, and the film becomes a debate about honesty, character, and whether selling a product and talking about God are both, in the end, salesmanship.[14](https://watch.afi.com/movie/the-big-kahuna) • [15](https://ink19.com/2000/06/magazine/screen-reviews/e1xdk6-the-big-kahuna) Phil, the older and wearier of the two veterans, delivers the film's key speech on character, telling Bob that character is the capacity for regret.[6](https://www.styleweekly.com/salesmen-kevin-spacey-and-danny-devito-wait-for-a-godotlike-ceo-in-the-big-kahuna/) • [16](https://www.christianitytoday.com/2000/06/big-kahuna/)
## Origins of the play
Roger Rueff wrote *Hospitality Suite* while working as a chemical engineer at Amoco's petroleum research division in [Naperville, Illinois](https://www.edgepedia.org/naperville-illinois). He had attended business conventions as "window dressing from the research center," and he drew the setting from a real room at a [Holiday Inn](https://www.edgepedia.org/holiday-inn) in Wichita where he had stayed; he said nothing in the play was based on people he knew.[17](https://www.latimes.com/archives/la-xpm-1992-04-30-ca-2102-story.html) The play, his first to reach full production, opened at South Coast Repertory's Second Stage in 1992, after readings at Victory Gardens Theatre in Chicago and the Manhattan Theatre Club in New York.[17](https://www.latimes.com/archives/la-xpm-1992-04-30-ca-2102-story.html)
## Production
**Spacey's first project.** Swanbeck, a stage director who had met Spacey in 1991 during the New York production of *Hurlyburly* and had worked as one of his acting coaches, sent Rueff's script to Spacey, and the two had long looked for a project to do together.[8](https://rossanthony.com/interviews/devito.shtml) • [7](https://www.worldradiohistory.com/Archive-All-Music/CMJ/New-Music/CMJ-New-Music-2000-05.pdf) Spacey decided the script would make a good first small film to launch his production company, Trigger Street Productions.[8](https://rossanthony.com/interviews/devito.shtml) • [3](https://www.latimes.com/archives/la-xpm-2000-apr-25-ca-23027-story.html) Swanbeck had never shot a film or taken a film class; before shooting began he read books on filmmaking, studied films, and practiced by making a short feature with a Chicago cast and crew over three days.[7](https://www.worldradiohistory.com/Archive-All-Music/CMJ/New-Music/CMJ-New-Music-2000-05.pdf) • [3](https://www.latimes.com/archives/la-xpm-2000-apr-25-ca-23027-story.html)
The shoot ran 16 days in February 1999 in New York, scheduled around Spacey's rehearsal for the Broadway production of *The Iceman Cometh*, and DeVito joined the cast as a replacement only a week before shooting.[7](https://www.worldradiohistory.com/Archive-All-Music/CMJ/New-Music/CMJ-New-Music-2000-05.pdf) • [4](https://stevemunro.ca/wp-content/uploads/2006/01/ffrev99c.pdf) Swanbeck said many scenes required only one take.[4](https://stevemunro.ca/wp-content/uploads/2006/01/ffrev99c.pdf) On budget, the sources differ: Swanbeck called it a $1.8 million passion project, and a contemporary review described the film as shot for less than $1.8 million, while [Box Office Mojo](https://www.edgepedia.org/box-office-mojo) lists a budget of $7,000,000.[8](https://rossanthony.com/interviews/devito.shtml) • [6](https://www.styleweekly.com/salesmen-kevin-spacey-and-danny-devito-wait-for-a-godotlike-ceo-in-the-big-kahuna/) • [9](https://www.boxofficemojo.com/title/tt0189584/)
Swanbeck said he approached the film theatrically, using the actors' faces as landscapes and their emotions as special effects, and that Spacey gave him creative control.[7](https://www.worldradiohistory.com/Archive-All-Music/CMJ/New-Music/CMJ-New-Music-2000-05.pdf) • [5](https://www.splicedwire.com/00features/swanbeck.html) The title was changed from *Hospitality Suite* during editing; Swanbeck said the film had become a different story than the play, one that could not be captured on stage, and he took heat for the new name before it was accepted.[5](https://www.splicedwire.com/00features/swanbeck.html)
## Reception
The film premiered at the [Toronto International Film Festival](https://www.edgepedia.org/toronto-international-film-festival) on September 16, 1999, screened at [South by Southwest](https://www.edgepedia.org/south-by-southwest) in March 2000, and opened in the United States on April 28, 2000.[10](https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0189584/releaseinfo/) It grossed $3,165,544 domestically and $3,728,888 worldwide against the budgets reported above.[9](https://www.boxofficemojo.com/title/tt0189584/)
Critics generally praised the acting while noting the film's theatrical roots. Roger Ebert, film critic of the *Chicago Sun-Times*, gave it three and a half stars and called it "sharp-edged, perfectly timed, funny and thoughtful," arguing that keeping the story in one room underlines the characters' isolation and observing that the lubricants themselves are a McGuffin.[18](https://www.rogerebert.com/reviews/the-big-kahuna-2000) The Los Angeles Times's Kevin Thomas called it "a drama of extraordinary power and insight" with performances from Spacey, DeVito, and Facinelli.[12](https://www.metacritic.com/movie/the-big-kahuna/critic-reviews/) On Metacritic the film scored 56, indicating mixed or average reviews.[12](https://www.metacritic.com/movie/the-big-kahuna/critic-reviews/) Some reviewers found the material stagy; Time Out compared its dialogue-driven style to *Glengarry Glen Ross*, and a Video Librarian review noted that "layered, perceptive performances overcome the dry source material and static, low-end, stage-style production values."[19](https://www.timeout.com/movies/the-big-kahuna) • [20](https://videolibrarian.com/reviews/film/the-big-kahuna/)
## Themes
The film's treatment of religion drew particular attention. Bob is a devout Christian whose faith is presented seriously rather than as caricature; the Ink 19 review called it unusual for a film to make a fundamentalist Christian its central character and treat him "just a man with deeply held beliefs."[15](https://ink19.com/2000/06/magazine/screen-reviews/e1xdk6-the-big-kahuna) Ebert observed that most mainstream reviews avoided mentioning that Bob is born again, and framed the film as a confrontation between two systems of faith, the spiritual and the secular world of business conventions.[18](https://www.rogerebert.com/reviews/the-big-kahuna-2000) Christian publications engaged with it on their own terms: *Christianity Today* praised the film for probing the moral pitfalls facing a Christian in the workplace without creating a straw-man believer, and the Theology of Work project has used it to discuss both implicit and explicit forms of religious witness on the job.[16](https://www.christianitytoday.com/2000/06/big-kahuna/) • [21](https://exp.theologyofwork.org/book/just-decisions) The Dove Foundation's review, while noting the film's serious treatment of spirituality, ethics, and morality at work, rated it "Not Approved" for family viewing, citing its language.[22](https://dove.org/review/2692-the-big-kahuna/)
## References
1. [The Big Kahuna (2000), AFI Catalog](https://catalog.afi.com/Catalog/moviedetails/61051)
2. [The Big Kahuna (1999), Animation World Network review by Rick DeMott](https://www.awn.com/blog/big-kahuna-1999)
3. [Little Triumphs Help to Make 'Big', Los Angeles Times, April 25, 2000](https://www.latimes.com/archives/la-xpm-2000-apr-25-ca-23027-story.html)
4. [Toronto International Film Festival review notes (FFRev99c)](https://stevemunro.ca/wp-content/uploads/2006/01/ffrev99c.pdf)
5. [Stage Director Swanbeck Hits the 'Big' Time, SPLICEDwire interview, 2000](https://www.splicedwire.com/00features/swanbeck.html)
6. [Salesmen Kevin Spacey and Danny DeVito wait for a Godotlike CEO in 'The Big Kahuna', Style Weekly](https://www.styleweekly.com/salesmen-kevin-spacey-and-danny-devito-wait-for-a-godotlike-ceo-in-the-big-kahuna/)
7. [Lost in Spacey: When You Make Your First Movie with Mr. American Beauty, CMJ New Music Monthly, 2000](https://www.worldradiohistory.com/Archive-All-Music/CMJ/New-Music/CMJ-New-Music-2000-05.pdf)
8. [Big Kahuna Interviews: Director John Swanbeck, Ross Anthony](https://rossanthony.com/interviews/devito.shtml)
9. [The Big Kahuna (1999), Box Office Mojo](https://www.boxofficemojo.com/title/tt0189584/)
10. [The Big Kahuna release info, IMDb](https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0189584/releaseinfo/)
11. [The Big Kahuna, Rotten Tomatoes](https://www.rottentomatoes.com/m/the_big_kahuna)
12. [The Big Kahuna critic reviews, Metacritic](https://www.metacritic.com/movie/the-big-kahuna/critic-reviews/)
13. [The Big Kahuna streaming: where to watch online?, JustWatch](https://www.justwatch.com/us/movie/the-big-kahuna)
14. [The Big Kahuna synopsis, American Film Institute](https://watch.afi.com/movie/the-big-kahuna)
15. [The Big Kahuna review, Ink 19, June 2000](https://ink19.com/2000/06/magazine/screen-reviews/e1xdk6-the-big-kahuna)
16. [The Big Kahuna review, Christianity Today, June 1, 2000](https://www.christianitytoday.com/2000/06/big-kahuna/)
17. [Playwright Engineers a Dual Life, Los Angeles Times, April 30, 1992](https://www.latimes.com/archives/la-xpm-1992-04-30-ca-2102-story.html)
18. [The Big Kahuna movie review, RogerEbert.com, May 12, 2000](https://www.rogerebert.com/reviews/the-big-kahuna-2000)
19. [The Big Kahuna review, Time Out](https://www.timeout.com/movies/the-big-kahuna)
20. [The Big Kahuna review, Video Librarian, August 2000](https://videolibrarian.com/reviews/film/the-big-kahuna/)
21. [Just Decisions: Christian Ethics Go to Work, Theology of Work](https://exp.theologyofwork.org/book/just-decisions)
22. [The Big Kahuna review, Dove.org](https://dove.org/review/2692-the-big-kahuna/)
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*Topic: Encyclopedia › Arts and culture › Screen and stage › Film and television › Films and standalone screen works › Individual films by title and year › Comedy and romantic films (individual works) › Comedy-drama films*
*Initially written Oct 3, 2026 · Reviewed: Oct 25, 2026 · Edited: Oct 15, 2026; Oct 25, 2026; Nov 1, 2026 · Last review: Oct 25, 2026*
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License: Edgepedia Community License 1.0, https://www.edgepedia.org/edgepedia/license