The Big Year

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The Big Year
Starring Owen Wilson, Jack Black, Steve Martin, Rosamund Pike
Directed by David Frankel

It's the event every bird watcher loves - The Big Year.  Spending a year traveling the country, documenting as many different kinds of birds possible.  The person who sees the most wins the Big Year, and everyone is out for the title.

Brad Harris (Jack Black) is out to break the record done by Bostick (Owen Wilson), and, despite lack of funds, sets out to accomplish his goal.  Meanwhile, CEO Stu (Steve Martin) wants an adventure before he retires.  Bostick knows people are out to break his record, so he sets out to break it himself.

The three travel all over the country locating different birds and competing against each other, and it seems that all three of them lose sense of what's really important in life.  Bostick isn't paying attention to his wife (Rosamund Pike).  Brad has a terrible relationship with his father, and Stu is watching his family from a distance.  Will they realize the important things in life before they're gone forever?

When I first watched this film, I thought to myself: "is there such a thing as this?"  To my surprise I discovered there was.  At first I thought it was pathetic for people to travel all over the country just to find birds, but after thinking about it, I think it would be fascinating.  Not seeing birds, but seeing the country.  One of the best aspects of this film is the lush scenery of all the different places the characters go to.  It reminds me that America is a lot bigger than I think sometimes.

Back to the movie, I think they billed it the wrong way.  They labeled it a comedy (and, with the talents of Wilson, Black and Martin, that's no surprise), but there isn't much laughter in the film.  Instead it's a melancholy drama about three men who could possibly give up everything in order to become the best bird watcher out there.  I read the reviews of the film and most everyone hated it, and I think it's for that fact - and also because it centers around bird watching, a sport I don't think many people know too much about.

I didn't find the film too appealing, the characters were very one-note (meaning there wasn't much to them other than trying to be the best).  The character development wasn't there, and overall it was a very forgettable film.

My Rating: B-

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