The Next Big Thing

There is a useful directness to The Next Big Thing, a comedy shaped by P.J. Posner with a firm understanding of its audience. In The Next Big Thing, Chris Eigeman provides the anchor while Jamie Harris introduces a contrasting energy. Without revealing later complications, The Next Big Thing opens from this situation: A painter who finds success (and true love) after a pickpocket steals one of his works, gives it a false authorship and promotes the imaginary artist to instant success so he can cash in on his ill gotten gains. The resulting its 1h 27m running time feels most convincing whenever The Next Big Thing trusts behaviour more than explanation.

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The plot of The Next Big Thing is built around the uneasy relationship between the central character and an important relationship. For Chris Eigeman, that relationship gives The Next Big Thing an emotional objective stronger than simple forward motion. The screenplay associated with Joel Posner lets a difficult choice reshape the direction of The Next Big Thing in stages. Although the treatment of the wider conflict could be sharper, The Next Big Thing never entirely loses the thread established at the beginning.

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What keeps The Next Big Thing emotionally readable is Chris Eigeman, whose choices establish a consistent point of view. In scenes with Jamie Harris, The Next Big Thing gains tension from two performers refusing to produce the same kind of energy. Connie Britton contributes a separate rhythm to The Next Big Thing and helps the supporting material feel less purely functional. The direction by P.J. Posner gives the cast of The Next Big Thing room to connect the quieter beats with the larger ones.

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The craft of The Next Big Thing is defined by comic timing built around character, supported by comic timing built around character rather than overwhelmed by decoration. TwoPoundBag Productions gives The Next Big Thing a production framework in which well judged reactions can remain connected to story. Made from a United States production context, The Next Big Thing uses setting and design to clarify mood before dialogue has to explain it. The technical finish of The Next Big Thing works because image, sound and editing appear to be serving the same immediate purpose.

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P.J. Posner gives The Next Big Thing a directorial line that is unable to turn workable ingredients into a stable rhythm from its opening promise to its final movement. The staging of The Next Big Thing is strongest when P.J. Posner allows motivation to determine pace instead of reversing that priority. Viewed as a complete piece, The Next Big Thing confirms that the premise retains appeal even when the finished film struggles across most of the running time. A tighter version of The Next Big Thing would address how explanation repeatedly takes the place of discovery, yet the surrounding work remains persuasive.

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The Next Big Thing finds additional purpose in its examination of embarrassment, status and the gap between confidence and reality. Through the performance of Chris Eigeman, The Next Big Thing makes that examination feel personal before it becomes broadly symbolic. The idea of the central character repeatedly returns The Next Big Thing to the cost behind its more visible developments. P.J. Posner is most persuasive when The Next Big Thing allows the theme to emerge from an uncomfortable choice rather than polished dialogue.

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For comedy fans who respond to personality and timing, The Next Big Thing is ultimately a missed opportunity rather than a complete failure. Its most persuasive combination in The Next Big Thing brings Chris Eigeman together with well judged reactions under the direction of P.J. Posner. The fact that explanation repeatedly takes the place of discovery prevents The Next Big Thing from being entirely seamless. Even with that reservation, The Next Big Thing has a clear point of view and enough genuine feeling to justify the journey.