Hey Guys!
I'm not really sure why I capitalized "guys" up there. Maybe I just thought those of you who actually read my blog are a special group who deserve a capitalized group title.
Anyhow, Zach and I have recently moved into a house, and put in place a superior bird hot spot, complete with wide-rimmed bird (and squirrel) feeder, bird perch (which is what makes it super easy for the squirrels to feed) and bird bath/watering hole. We then grew quite excited to see who came to our yard to partake in what we'd set up. We even found a great website for looking up what birds were frequenting our bird spa. After not only enjoying, identifying, but also texting about these single-life-is-over interests, my super-cute mother-in-law recommended we watch The Big Year.
As you could probably guess (or have seen) The Big Year is about bird-watchers. But not just silly kids like Zach and myself, serious Bird Watchers, who do indeed deserve a capitalized title. These guys (Owen Wilson, Jack Black, Steve Martin) are trying to break the record for most species of birds seen or heard in one year. Sounds like it could be entertaining, but the problem was is... it wasn't, really. It had a couple of moments where we laughed, but it was more because we felt the pressure to, than because we were entertained. You're supposed to root for Jack Black's character, as he is the main character and narrator, but I liked Steve Martin better, which I suppose just means that his acting was great in this movie, as I've never felt so comfortable with him in any other role.
The characters - They felt only semi-fleshed out, to me. They had backgrounds and goals, basically all the same goals, and the personalities seemed like rough outlines. I had to struggle to feel for any of the characters, which led to a lack of caring about what happened in the movie.
I also didn't care for the flashback scenes, where they used an oval cutout in the middle of the scene taking place. I know everyone's trying to reinvent the flashback and dream scene, but this felt cheap, in my opinion. Ugh, and the credits show birds, but FAR too fast for anyone to see what the birds freaking looked like... any of them! That said, perhaps they should have hired a different editing team.
My final complaint was with the writing. It was safe and predictable. I know it's a comedy, but I feel that the most successful comedies are those that allow some sort of challenge in the viewers.
I absolutely love my mommy-in-law, and can appreciate why she recommended this to us, but at the same time, I can recommend that you don't bother with this one, unless you are a serious bird watcher who understood what The Big Year meant before you saw the trailer or read this review.
I'm not really sure why I capitalized "guys" up there. Maybe I just thought those of you who actually read my blog are a special group who deserve a capitalized group title.
Anyhow, Zach and I have recently moved into a house, and put in place a superior bird hot spot, complete with wide-rimmed bird (and squirrel) feeder, bird perch (which is what makes it super easy for the squirrels to feed) and bird bath/watering hole. We then grew quite excited to see who came to our yard to partake in what we'd set up. We even found a great website for looking up what birds were frequenting our bird spa. After not only enjoying, identifying, but also texting about these single-life-is-over interests, my super-cute mother-in-law recommended we watch The Big Year.
As you could probably guess (or have seen) The Big Year is about bird-watchers. But not just silly kids like Zach and myself, serious Bird Watchers, who do indeed deserve a capitalized title. These guys (Owen Wilson, Jack Black, Steve Martin) are trying to break the record for most species of birds seen or heard in one year. Sounds like it could be entertaining, but the problem was is... it wasn't, really. It had a couple of moments where we laughed, but it was more because we felt the pressure to, than because we were entertained. You're supposed to root for Jack Black's character, as he is the main character and narrator, but I liked Steve Martin better, which I suppose just means that his acting was great in this movie, as I've never felt so comfortable with him in any other role.
The characters - They felt only semi-fleshed out, to me. They had backgrounds and goals, basically all the same goals, and the personalities seemed like rough outlines. I had to struggle to feel for any of the characters, which led to a lack of caring about what happened in the movie.
I also didn't care for the flashback scenes, where they used an oval cutout in the middle of the scene taking place. I know everyone's trying to reinvent the flashback and dream scene, but this felt cheap, in my opinion. Ugh, and the credits show birds, but FAR too fast for anyone to see what the birds freaking looked like... any of them! That said, perhaps they should have hired a different editing team.
My final complaint was with the writing. It was safe and predictable. I know it's a comedy, but I feel that the most successful comedies are those that allow some sort of challenge in the viewers.
I absolutely love my mommy-in-law, and can appreciate why she recommended this to us, but at the same time, I can recommend that you don't bother with this one, unless you are a serious bird watcher who understood what The Big Year meant before you saw the trailer or read this review.
