The Big Hit: Synopsis

THE BIG HIT follows the professional and romantic misadventures of Mel (Mark Wahlberg), a beleaguered hitman who is drawn, along with his professional associates, Cisco (Lou Diamond Phillips), Crunch (Bokeem Woodbine), Vince (Antonio Sabato, Jr.) and Gurnp (Robin Dunne), into a moonlighting gig that turns sour.

What seemed like a quick and easy weekend kidnap job backfires when their victim, a rich industrialist's daughter named Keiko (China Chow), turns out to be the godchild of their boss, Paris (Avery Brooks). When Cisco, the mastermind of the plan, betrays Paris, Mel becomes a wanted man.

Meanwhile, as if his weekend wasn't going badly enough, Mel's mistress, Chantel (Lela Rochon), absconds with his earnings just as his fiancee Pam's (Christina Applegate) disapproving parents (Elliott Gould and Lainie Kazan) arrive for a visit. As his professional and domestic woes collide, Mel finds himself dodging bullets while trying to impress his potential in-laws. Throw in an overzealous video store clerk demanding the return of an overdue tape, and it's not long before Mel's carefully constructed life starts to unravel.
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Hitmen are usually depicted as solitary, secretive characters whose only source of satisfaction comes through their prowess on the job. Their lives are orderly, precise, and devoid of domestic complications.

That's not the case in THE BIG HIT. These killers clock in, and they clock out. They want bonuses. They talk about vacations and retirement. And once firmly planted on a stool at the local bar after a hard day of knocking off Laddies, these ice-cold hitmen turn into regular guys.

The mild-mannered Mel Smiley is the leader of this group of working stiffs. He just wants everyone to like him, which means, naturally, that everyone takes advantage of him instead. Especially the women in his life.

Chantel, Mel's erstwhile mistress, sees him as little more than a meal ticket. She lives rent-free in his house, misspends his money, and is continually thinking of ways to get more out of him. Her latest money-grabbing scheme is concocting tales about overdue mortgage and car payments (she really wants the extra money to run away with her lover, Sergio).

Mel's beautiful fiancee, Pam, gave her parents $50,000 from Mel's bank account. Now they're on their way to thank him and, hopefully, benefit from another financial windfall.

At least Mel excels at his difficult - not to mention morally questionable - line of work. Behind his friendly disposition, Mel is a "whirling, speeding juggernaut of death." With his associates, Cisco, Crunch, Vince, and Gump, Mel works for Paris, the leader of an international crime cartel and a contractor for hit jobs. What Mel and his associates lack in professional demeanor they more than make up for in panache - maybe their watches aren't synchronized, but their targets get hit and they even pick up a couple of girls' phone numbers along the way.

Like everyone else in his life, Mel's associates, particularly Cisco, also take advantage of him. They give him the most dangerous assignments, cheat him out of his bonuses, and tease him unmercifully about the women in his life.

Mel's daily consumption of Maalox is a dead giveaway that the mounting pressure is beginning to affect him. Mel is worrying so much about pleasing others, he's forgotten to please himself. His life is falling apart.

In one crazy, action-packed weekend, everything will change.