A: Three guys compete in the Big Year competition, which consists of attempting to look at the largest variety of birds between January 1st and December 31st of any year. You don't have to take pictures or have any kind of proof to win, you just have to say you saw them. Very un-American.
Q: Who’s in the movie?
A: Jack Black, Steve Martin, Owen Wilson, Rachida Jones, Rosamund Pike, Diane Weist, Brian Dennehy, Joel McHale, Kevin Pollak, JoBeth Williams, Anjelica Houston, Jim Parsons, Paul Campbell, Anthony Anderson, Tim Blake Nelson, Cindy Busby, Steven Weber, Andrew Wilson
Q: Is this movie worth the price of admission?
A:
Stop! This movie wrongly assumes that anyone cares about birds, or watching them.Q: Will this movie make me laugh?
A: Well, Owen Wilson's nose does still look like a phallic symbol.
Q: Will this movie make me cry?
A: I had a vulnerable moment around a baby's name, and that's how I remembered that I needed to stop by the store on the way home and pick up some feminine hygiene products.
Q: Will this movie be up for any awards?
A: I remember reading that this story was set up at a studio and thinking, "Why? How could that possibly be interesting?" Then I read that Steve Martin and Jack Black and Owen Wilson were in it, and I thought, "There must be something I don't know about it that makes it interesting." And then I read that it was based on a book, so I imagined that there had to be something interesting about the book that made them want to turn it into a movie... Well after all that, I'd like to give myself the "I Was Right" Award. And that's why it's important to always go with your first instinct.
Q: How is the Acting?
A: Nothing wrong with it... except that these people thought this film was a good use of their talents.
Q: How is the Directing?
A: Really, David Frankel? You're gonna go from The Devil Wears Prada and Marley & Me to a movie about people who ruin everything in their lives so they can run around looking at birds? I have nothing more to say on the matter.
Q: How is the story/script?
A: It's naively hopeful to think that a competition about looking at bird varietals across America could be relatable to anyone who isn't already a birder, so when these guys risk their relationships and jobs over it, they look pretty bird-brained-- and not in a funny way, just in an idiot way. What I'm saying is that the stakes are terrible. And normally before making a movie, producers look into the size of the built-in audience, but come on now, how many people in the world really care about birds that aren't marinated in a balsamic reduction?
Q: Is there anything else worth mentioning about the movie?
A: Somebody please remind me not to see the movie formerly known as Everybody Loves Whales. My gut instinct was the same when I read about that movie getting set up at a studio as when I read about this one. I've seen the trailer for it now, too (currently -- and forgettably -- entitled Big Miracle), and I have a strong feeling that it's going to have exactly these same problems as Big Year, because everybody doesn't love whales, either!
Q: Where can I see the trailer?
A: The Big Year Trailer
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