Written by James M. Tate / 10/20/2011 / No comments / comedy , jack black , jobeth williams , owen wilson , steve martin , tens
THE BIG YEAR
title: THE BIG YEAR
year: 2011
cast: Steve Martin, Jack Black, Owen Wilson, JoBeth Williams
rating: ***
Though promoted as an ensemble, this really stars Jack Black as a hopelessly drifting thirty-something who loves birds to the point he’s obsessed with “The Big Year,” a competition where bird watchers travel the world to, you got it, watch and count them. Owen Wilson is his arch nemesis, lean and handsome and the best bird watcher around, always one step ahead of our chunky hero, who seems born to lose: which is why he’s so endearing. Steve Martin fills the gap as a successful entrepreneur that befriends Black and becomes a guru of sorts, but that doesn’t mean he lacks his own aspiration of becoming number one birder. But he loses his edge, and the premise is handed entirely to Black, the only character the audience really roots for as he’s up against the overly confident Wilson, who has his own problems at home. The contest itself is a bit shaky, too strange to base a film on... an entire yearlong contest using the honor system is simply ludicrous to buy. But once the characters begin interacting, and with their families and work on the line, things get more interesting: it’s not so much about birdwatchers, but real people. If you’re looking for a laugh-out-loud comedy, this won’t do. But for a feel-good lightweight time-passer, it works just fine. And perhaps if Steve Martin wasn’t in the movie at all, and it only involved Black verses Wilson i.e. the tortoise and the hare, it might have been funnier or sillier in the standard hijinks sense. But the white-capped veteran provides an essential base for all the running around. Though it doesn’t make you want to study birds like SIDEWAYS made you thirsty for wine, one might yearn to travel those lovely spots the birds call home.
year: 2011
cast: Steve Martin, Jack Black, Owen Wilson, JoBeth Williams
rating: ***
Though promoted as an ensemble, this really stars Jack Black as a hopelessly drifting thirty-something who loves birds to the point he’s obsessed with “The Big Year,” a competition where bird watchers travel the world to, you got it, watch and count them. Owen Wilson is his arch nemesis, lean and handsome and the best bird watcher around, always one step ahead of our chunky hero, who seems born to lose: which is why he’s so endearing. Steve Martin fills the gap as a successful entrepreneur that befriends Black and becomes a guru of sorts, but that doesn’t mean he lacks his own aspiration of becoming number one birder. But he loses his edge, and the premise is handed entirely to Black, the only character the audience really roots for as he’s up against the overly confident Wilson, who has his own problems at home. The contest itself is a bit shaky, too strange to base a film on... an entire yearlong contest using the honor system is simply ludicrous to buy. But once the characters begin interacting, and with their families and work on the line, things get more interesting: it’s not so much about birdwatchers, but real people. If you’re looking for a laugh-out-loud comedy, this won’t do. But for a feel-good lightweight time-passer, it works just fine. And perhaps if Steve Martin wasn’t in the movie at all, and it only involved Black verses Wilson i.e. the tortoise and the hare, it might have been funnier or sillier in the standard hijinks sense. But the white-capped veteran provides an essential base for all the running around. Though it doesn’t make you want to study birds like SIDEWAYS made you thirsty for wine, one might yearn to travel those lovely spots the birds call home.
Labels:
comedy,
jack black,
jobeth williams,
owen wilson,
steve martin,
tens
Subscribe to:
Post Comments (Atom)
All Time Popular
-
Robyn Hilton enters into an eclectic exploitation comedy career in Wonder Women circa 1973 As mentioned a few posts ago, ROBYN HILTON, b...
-
year: 1978 cast: Allen Garfield, Leif Garrett, Kathleen Lloyd, Tony Alva, Pam Kenneally rating: ***1/2 Although promoted as a Leif Garr...
-
Kari Michaelsen in Saturday the 14th year: 1982 In LOVE AT FIRST BITE, a popular comedy that took the vampire genre by satire, Richard ...
-
Cornelia Sharpe in BUSTING Year: 1974 Rating: **** Starring Elliott Gould and Robert Blake as determined vice cops BUSTING hookers, makin...
-
Mary-Louise Weller in NATIONAL LAMPOON'S ANIMAL HOUSE ANIMAL HOUSE, directed by John Landis and produced by Ivan Reitman, stars John Be...
-
Kerri Green and John Candy in SUMMER RENTAL Year: 1985 John Candy, in his first leading role, plays a burnt-out air traffic controller ...
-
Robyn Hilton on STARSKY AND HUTCH Model/Actress ROBYN HILTON played Mel Brook's secretary in BLAZING SADDLES and turns up in an epis...
-
Robyn Hilton in Video Vixens the same year as Blazing Saddles: 1974 The Anthology of Comedic Parodies, already done in several Woody All...
-
CADDDYSHACK is best known for the iconic leading actors: Rodney Dangerfield, Chevy Chase, Ted Knight, and Bill Murray, but originally the ...
-
Elizabeth James and Tom Laughlin on equal ground YEAR: 1967 THE BORN LOSERS wasn't supposed to happen but thank God it did since BIL...
Featured Post
JIM KELLY RETURNS AS BLACK BELT JONES HANDLING 'HOT POTATO'
Title: HOT POTATO Year: 1976 Rating: *** No one could fathom why the urban blaxploitation BLACK BELT JONES would have a pulpy-adventure sequ...
No comments:
Post a Comment
Note: Only a member of this blog may post a comment.