billy crystal reappears in yet another high concept comedy . he tries to infuse some life into it , but it <NEG> gets bogged down with sentimentality and a lack of sophistication </NEG> . sammy ( billy crystal ) is a struggling agent at the end of his ropes . he's separated from his wife , serena ( kathleen quinlan ) , and down to his last serious client . . . in a low-budget film shooting in romania . but in a turn of bad luck , sammy wrecks his car . . . only to be mysteriously saved by a giant ( gheorghe muresan ) . but this giant has a heart of gold . he leads a solitary life , helping out the monks at a local monastery . his only longing is for his long lost love , lilianna ( joanna pacula ) , who has since moved to america . sammy , seeing a golden ticket , convinces max to become an actor ( represented by sammy , of course ) , and come back to america . and so sam and max bounce from pathetic job to pathetic job , with sammy dangling a meeting with lilianna as a carrot before max's nose . but slowly sammy's deceptions begin to haunt him . but will he develop a conscience before the innocent max becomes disillusioned . the humor in my giant isn't the world's greatest . mostly , it falls under the category of " boy . . . he's so big ! " , and <NEG> that can only go so far , no matter how hard the talent tries </NEG> . still , its slightly amusing parts are longed for when the movie <NEG> gets bogged down in sappy moments </NEG> . the film's best moment ( and that's not saying much ) is a bit part by steven seagal , playing himself . between executive decision and this , all of seagal's best roles have been cameos . maybe he should consider a change of work : steven seagal , the character actor ! gheorghe muresan <NEG> isn't a natural actor at all </NEG> , and his thick cotton-mouthed accent <NEG> certainly doesn't help </NEG> . in fact the only thing he adds to the role is his immense stature . originally , the concept was designed several years ago for andre the giant . andre also had a hefty accent , but he displayed a knack for comedy in the princess bride . . . something muresan should have studied for some pointers . why does billy crystal continually get caught in these <NEG> pathetic comedies </NEG> ? he's proven that he can be much funnier than these <NEG> formulaic films </NEG> allow him to be , and yet , like a glutton for punishment , he keeps coming back . that doesn't mean we have to .
