The Big Fix (1978)

(On Cable TV, November 2022) While reckoning with the legacy of the hippie countercultural movement became a popular topic of discussion as the former hippies aged and the historical legacy of the movement became clearer in the reactionary 1980s, The Big Fix is notable in that it already started poking at the topic as early as the late 1970s. Richard Dreyfuss stars as a former radical who has mellowed with age and is now stuck with bills, an ex-wife, shared-custody kids, and a Private Investigator practice that is, more often than not, serving insurance companies. It’s within the context of a close political race that he’s contacted by former acquaintances, thrust into film-noir intrigue, and untangles a complex assassination plot. In the tradition of the dour New Hollywood era (which was also already winding down), The Big Fix feels confused about everything except being contrarian and downbeat. It clearly qualifies as a neo-noir in the way it reuses the genre’s archetypes, but you could take the film’s plot summary as a guide for a new screenplay and end up with a very different film just through tone and characterization. Dreyfuss is not bad here, but viewers may have more fun with an early John Lithgow performance, or Bonnie Bedelia in a cute turn. Still, The Big Fix’s plot is solid and the semi-comic, semi-tragic tone is a main line to an exploration of fading ideals well into a particularly cynical decade.