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Big Fish
Movie Stats & Links |
Starring: |
Ewan McGregor, Albert Finney,
Billy Crudup, Jessica Lange, Alison Lohman, Helena Bonham
Carter, Robert Guillaume, Matthew McGrory, Steve Buscemi,
Danny DeVito |
MPAA Rated: |
PG-13 |
Released By: |
Columbia
Pictures |
Web Site: |
.../movies/bigfish/ |
Kiddie Movie: |
The stories are cute, but they
might start to get bored. |
Date Movie: |
It's alright for the both of you. |
Gratuitous Sex: |
There is a butt shot you really
probably don't want to see. |
Gratuitous
Violence: |
Not really. |
Action: |
Ehh. |
Laughs: |
Some. |
Memorable
Scene: |
The twins are fun to watch. |
Memorable
Quote: |
Nothing stands out. |
Directed By: |
Tim Burton |
Produced By: |
Bruce Cohen, Dan Jinks, Richard
D. Zanuck |
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Big Fish
A Movie Review |
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Maybe it was just that I couldn’t get wrapped up in
the characters, but there was a point during "Big Fish" where, sure,
the stories being told seemed mostly unbelievable yet entertaining,
but I just didn’t care anymore. I guess I’ll try to explain this a
little better in my review. Let’s go…"Big Fish" gives us Will Bloom
(Billy Crudup). His father, Ed (the older played by Albert Finney, the
younger by Obi-Wan Kenobi, oops, I mean Ewan McGregor) has been
telling these seemingly tall tales about his lives adventures to
anyone who would listen, and Will is finally sick of it, especially
when Ed makes himself the center of attention at Will’s wedding by
retelling the tale of how Ed was fishing when Will was born. The story
is more involved than that, but Will is sick of it because, well, Will
knows it isn’t true, that Ed, being a traveling salesman, was just out
of town when he was born. It is with this knowledge, knowing that Ed’s
most famous story is false, that Will assumes every other tale his
father has told him is a lie also. Now that Ed is dying, Will just
wants to find out how his Dad really lived his life.
And so "Big Fish" switches from scenes with Will in the present
coupled with flashbacks detailing the stories his father has told
throughout the years. A couple of the stories go as follow: One
involves how this giant named Karl (Matthew McGrory) came to town one
day and started eating sheep and livestock. Ed goes to confront the
giant, to convince him to leave town, and they become friends and
leave together. Along the way they split up for a spell leaving Ed to
discover this seemingly fictional town that has you wondering if Ed
had an untimely demise, that this place could be heaven, and that as
Ed leaves the town, he comes back to life because it wasn’t yet his
time to visit there. So Ed hooks back up with Karl, and the both of
them end up at the circus. Karl gets hired by Amos Calloway (Danny
DeVito), the ringleader at the circus who also might be a werewolf,
and Ed goes off to find the love of his life, Sandra (the elder played
by Jessica Lange, the younger by Alison Lohman). Okay, I think you get
the point that Ed’s stories seem far-fetched, and if that doesn’t make
you think so, there’s also the story of Ed parachuting into China to
steal some plans to the power-plant only to find conjoined at the hip
twins, Ping and Jing, with two bodies and only two legs, so he gets
their help to escape China and helps them join the circus with Karl
and Amos. You can see how Will has trouble believing his dad’s stories
of his life.
And so the story goes on, eventually Ed ends up on his deathbed in
the hospital, when Dr. Bennett (Robert Guillaume) puts things into
perspective for Will.
Yes, it is a touching story about a son trying to connect with his
father, and it has the wackiness and attention to detail that you
would expect with Tim Burton directing, but about halfway through the
movie, I just didn’t care about the stories that the young Ed was
telling. I guess I’ll just leave the review there giving it 2 ½ stars
out of 5. If you’re looking for a quirky matinee, go ahead and see
"Big Fish."
That’s it for this one! I’m The Dude on the Right!! L8R!!! |