Review of The Big Year (2011) by Dawdlingpoet — 26 Nov 2021

Although this movie may seem to have a rather bland plotline, it is quite watchable and fairly entertaining overall. It pokes fun at the competitiveness of Americans in such seemingly boring, or anorak, interests. There is definitely comedy here, although its (as you may expect) fairly subtle and not of the laugh-out-loud variety.

The storyline does work in as much as having a clear start, middle and end, although it should be noted that this is an adaptation of a novel, so it makes sense that its structured that way. The movie features quite alot of big names in the cast, with the three main characters being played by Owen Wilson, Jack Black and Steve Martin. There are also (if brief) appearances by Brian Dennehy, Anjelica Huston and Dianne West.

Pace wise, I'd say its neither fast nor slow really. Its quite a gentle movie I suppose and has a bit of a sentimental feel to it, following around the different characters (or twitchers you could call them, ie. birdwatchers) - we learn more about their backgrounds and personal lives as the movie continues and there are some quite amusing scenes when they bump into each other and try to out wit one another. I found it less dull and more pleasantly watchable in general - I don't think the cast found it a challenging movie at all, it was probably a walk in the park for them to act in a movie such as this, so I couldn't call it remarkable but equally at only about an hour and a half long, it was a good length and I didn't feel bored to tears - I thought the characters were quirky in their own ways and I did feel somewhat reeled into their world, so it kept my interest for the duration of the movie. This movie could be watched as a family movie, as it carries a PG certificate there's little to offend or scare younger viewers, indeed I can't think of anything worth mentioning as far as thats concerned - no real violence, strong language or anything like that. Children who find it hard to concentrate would probably find it a bit boring though but thats maybe another issue lol.

Overall, there's not a great deal that can be said about this, I feel. I thought the ultimate message it sent out at the end was perhaps a bit preachy and cheesy, which wasn't great but it by no means really ruined the movie or anything like that. At a short running time of approximately one hour and a half, it kept my interest enough to not be bored enough to want to switch it off, which I'll freely admit does happen on ocassion. I thought the plot was interesting, the cast was good and there were some amusing moments, which kept me entertained, so overall its worth a watch.

Yes, I think I would recommend this movie as a rather pleasant and fairly entertaining movie suitable for the whole family pretty much. Its not exactly remarkable but its perfectly watchable - if your looking for a great laugh out loud comedy then this may disappoint but if your a fan of the cast or the story interests you then I think its worth checking out.