Quartile rating: 6/10 · 1 rating
A weak con man panics when he learns he's going to prison for fraud. He hires a mysterious martial arts guru who helps transform him into a martial arts expert who can fight off inmates who want to hurt or love him.
Big Stan is a Rob Schneider vanity project that blends prison comedy with martial arts in a moderately distinctive way — the premise of a fraud con transforming into a prison-yard martial arts master is silly but has a certain unique energy. However, the plot is formulaic and predictable once the setup is established, the acting is broadly comedic at best with little depth, the cinematography is serviceable direct-to-video level work, and the ending wraps up too neatly. The novelty gets a slight bump for the unusual genre mashup and Schneider's commitment to the concept, but nothing else rises above average.