Every once in a while great actors seem to feel the need to relax and humor themselves by appearing in small-time comedies. Sometimes this works, but too often it doesn't. I found it sad to watch Morgan Freeman go through the motions in "The Big Bounce," a movie too mediocre to inspire either contempt or excitement.

Freeman plays Walter Crewes, a judge and resort owner in Hawaii who takes trouble-prone drifter Jack Ryan (Owen Wilson) under his wing, giving him a job and a place to stay. Jack gets involved with Nancy Hayes (Sara Foster), the mistress of wealthy developer Ray Ritchie whose newest resort threatens the existence of Crewes' smaller operation. While the evil Ritchie (Gary Sinise) is away visiting his wife, Jack and Nancy frolic around the island exploring the interiors of homes without really stealing anything. Nancy proves herself a willing pupil of Jack's low-level breaking-and-entering techniques, though Jack feels a little conflicted since he is trying to avoid trouble.

The title refers to the bounce of excitement these fun-loving criminals feel upon breaking into homes, and soon the wily Nancy is doing her best to draw Jack into a scheme to stealcash from Ray Ritchie's hunting lodge. In search of the ever-elusive "big bounce," Nancy helps orchestrate a plan that is more devious than she allows the trusting Jack to know. Of course, the plan turns out to be yet more devious than even Nancy understands, and thus the trouble begins.

This movie could not have been too strenuous for writer Sebastian Gutierrez, as he decided to employ gratuitous confusion in place of an actual plot. Poorly adapted from an Elmore Leonard novel, it seems that Gutierrez may have been on his own Hawaiian vacation and tossed this off some warm evening when he didn't have anything better to do. In a comedy of this type, all a viewer can demand are some good jokes and snappy one-liners, neither of which are abundant in "The Big Bounce." Aside from a few clever exchanges, the dialogue is unexciting.  

Owen Wilson is all that stands between "The Big Bounce" and utter failure. His laconic style and relaxed line deliverings never fail to amuse, even when the material he is working with isn't stellar. Perfectly suited to the slacker role, the easy-going Wilson picks up the movie and does his best, making the spectacle bearable for viewers. Luckily he is in nearly every scene in the movie; the few moments without Wilson fall flat. Sara Foster is not a great actress, but her beauty and charisma are well matched with her role as the enterprising young women determined to get ahead by whatever means necessary.

I hope Owen Wilson will have the chance to star in movies worthy of his abilities, but until then "The Big Bounce" will have to suffice for a glimpse of this talented comic actor.