The Big Year (2011)

As a long time birdwatcher and Steve Martin fan, I watched "The BIg Year" with keen interest and an eye for the details. Having birded quite extensively in the US, I think I am qualified to give this a very thorough review!

To start things off, this is a story about three talented birders - one young hotshot (Owen Wilson), one budding hotshot (Jack Black), and one old guy (Steve Martin) - competing against one another to see who can list the most birds in North America in one calendar year. The action starts on Jan 1, and right off the bat, birds, or "ticks", start to go up on everyone's lists. A siting here, a siting there, and with a little scientific narration, we're off and running Thankfully, we also see a running tally of each birder's totals frequently as the movie progresses.

And then the various subplots and scenarios kick in as the race heats up. These subplots revolve around each birder and his normal life outside of his hobby with the idea being to show you what kind of sacrifices are involved in doing a big year. OK, nice idea, but only one of these really works for me, though - the one involving Jack and his dad, played by Brian Dennehy. Good work there - both believable and touching. But otherwise, the subplots were predictable and added little to the main story. I did enjoy, though, the one scene where expert birder Ken Bostick is making love to his wife while news reports of a "fallout" of migrants on the Texas coast is broadcast. That was probably the funniest moment in the entire film. Anyway, and then as the race heats up, more plot unfolds. Part of doing a big year is to not let others know you are doing one. Thats to lessen any chance of all out warfare among listers. Also, you can form alliances and team up with others along the way if your goal is to stop the top dog, the favorite expected to tally the most birds in the end.

But overall, a big year is not all that unlike it was portrayed in the film making allowances for Hollywood invention, etc. Things can get a bit crazy. The level of competition is such that ordinary people will sometimes do extraordinarily expensive, unethical, or just plain stupid things to see a bird. I liked that the film delved into this a bit, as each actor seemed fairly believable as a competitive birder, with enough scheming and conniving behavior thrown in to give you a feel for what a big year can really be like.

And now on to the movie from a scientific point of view: I'd rate the scientific accuracy of the birding lore here fairly highly at times. In particular, the culture on Attu, Alaska was a lot like I have read (I have never been). But at other times, inexplicably, science gave way to whatever seemed to suit someones idea of a good plot twist best. For example, THe great spotted woodpecker siting in Oregon was pure fantasy - Woodpeckers do not migrate much and this is an Asian species. Other birds like the pink footed Goose and Grey Owl were located in habitat unsuitable for them in real life. And then there was the trek to High Island in Texas, which really amused me because of how they hyped it up - I mean as the scene unfolds, tens of thousands of birds are shown filling the air like you only see on the duck and geese refuges. Very funny....:)

But here's what I kept wanting to see more of though - first off - more moving, beautifully photographed scenery (a la "Winged Migration", perhaps). Kudo's to the Bald Eagle mating scene which almost brought me to tears. B

Fmovies: i was hesitant to watch the big year. i saw the critic reviews and saw that it flopped horribly at the box office. but i could not resist to watch it because i like jack black and love Owen Wilson.

i am more than happy i decided to watch the big year. i gave it a 9 out of 10. i thought it was well written and the cast did a nice job of drawing you into the story. i did not feel like i was watch jack black or Owen Wilson, i was watching brad and bostick.

i knew nothing about "birding". if you do then you would definitely love this movie. if you don't , don't worry you don't have to. i didn't and i still enjoyed it very much.

the movie was not too long or too short. there was not too much comedy or a lack of it either. the movie was the perfect length , had just the right amount of comedy and a perfect touch of drama.

this movie will make you chuckle a few times, make you sympathize with the characters and choke you up a couple times.

i highly recommend you watch it and enjoy it.

What's that expression? ... "All that's necessary for evil to prevail, is for good men to do nothing"... or something like that.

Well I agree with prashanta_guha: "people's taste in movies is getting worse by the year. They seem to give high ratings to mindless movies and fail to appreciate the good ones."

But maybe it's just that it's mainly idiots writing these reviews, and not enough good men? So this film made me sign up and write; this is my first review.

I absolutely loved this film. It's charming, warm and funny.

There are reviews on here about it not being funny enough or no real love story etc, but therein lies its beauty.

There's no over-the-top Hollywood slapstick comedy, no over-the-top romantic storyline, it's a little birdie but not too birdie. And so you're left with a subtle, very real, quality film.

I would say that whoever made the trailer should be fired as it has no reflection on the film, creates no desire to see the film and no doubt was the cause of the complete flop in theatre ticket sales. The film is not about mid-life crises. It's a simple film about hobbies and how they can affect your life, as well as being what all films essentially are; a story to entertain you for an hour and a half.

On top of that, I was delighted and amused to learn that this film is not too far off a true story. Take a look on Wikipedia, a big year is real thing in the ornithology world, and there is a world record holder with 745!

So if you like this film, write a review and let's get the rating up closer to what it truly deserves.

The Big Year fmovies. I confess that I cannot represent the following as an entirely objective, nor representative assessment of the quality of "The Big Year". How often does one of the early scenes in a film almost identically replicate an incident in the viewer's life? My introduction to the peculiar world of birding was in the late 1990s at Patagonia State Park in Southern Arizona. We had unsuspectingly selected a camping location that was noted for hosting an enormous variety of birds, and were awakened one morning by a small army of odd looking characters hell-bent on confirming the first reported sighting of the Nutting flycatcher in the United States in several decades. Out of curiosity we joined the chase, and the rest is family history, eerily duplicated by the makers of this film. What followed were many years of exercise, pleasure and reward for one of life's most interesting avocations.

So... how could I not enjoy this fine effort at mixing the allure of this strange "sport" with a thoughtful exploration of human motivation and conflicted choices. I can understand why the faithful fans of Black, Martin and Wilson might be disappointed with this production. But I, for one, have grown infinitely weary of too many superficial, sophomoric attempts at humor through these three capable actors. I was encouraged to see the restraint and depth that they could bring to these characters which provided the necessary credibility for this otherwise improbable tale. The film maintains a near perfect balance of humor, drama, and suspense in a well paced, engaging and uplifting plot. The spectacular photography of an abundance of aesthetically appealing locations is an added bonus.

I count it a big plus when I can walk out of the movie with that "feel good" elation that comes from a pleasant and interesting evening's entertainment. My heart said give it an eight or nine, but my never-ending quest for realistic objectivity resulted in the understated seven. Unless you are of the set that requires demolition derbies and frat humor for your entertainment, go see it. You'll have a good time.

The Big Year's low IMDb rating and box-office take had me worried that this film would be a "lame-duck." Turns out, this movie is really good.

I am not a "birder" and know very little about birds other than what I find on a typical restaurant menu. The beginning of The Big Year made me think I would learn a little bit more about birds, but was pleasantly surprised to learn that the film is not about birds at all; it is about people, how we relate to one another, and the things that drive us to do the things we do.

The characters were more three-dimensional than those of any other movie I have seen in a long time. I think a lot of people are thrown off because we often don't know who to "root for" in this film. The characters seem like real people, albeit participating in a sport most of us do not understand and have never even thought about trying. I hesitate to even call birding a sport because there are no spectators, trophies or prizes involved.

Jack Black gives his finest performance ever imo, playing an average working-class guy named Brad who has a crazy obsession with birds. His dream of spending an entire "Big Year" spotting and photographing as many birds as possible seems odd to us (and Brad's family), but we soon learn that he is not alone with this obsession. All throughout the film, Brad offers glimpses of how birds and humans are more alike than different. Jack Black nails the dialog which manages to be insightful while avoiding any semblance of pretentiousness.

Owen Wilson plays a married contractor named Kenny who takes more pride in his world record "Big Year" than anything else in the world including his trying-to-conceive wife. He gives a believable, nuanced performance as someone who will go to any length to protect his record, yet he is far from an average scumbag villain. He reminds me more of a prescription drug addict that I might feel sorry for. Kenny is so blinded by his addiction to "birding" that he cannot see the proverbial forest for the trees.

Steve Martin gives a beautifully balanced performance as an aging business owner who has always dreamed of trying for the Big Year birding record. Martin is known mostly as an on screen "wild and crazy guy" but in The Big Year, he remains subdued as he has in previous films such as Grand Canyon and Parenthood. If you liked him in those movies, you will like him in The Big Year as well.

The Big Year was not meant to be a gut-busting comedy, but there are several humorous moments. This movie also manages to be quite touching, thought-provoking, sometimes uplifting, occasionally heart-rending, and beautiful throughout. A lot like life except with better direction, better actors, great dialog, and fantastic cinematography.

Having read the book by Mark Obmascik and being a birder, I looked forward to 20th Century Fox's film when it was announced over a year ago. I began to get concerned when I saw the trailer which didn't look like book, didn't feature birds and wasn't all that funny. Those unfamiliar with the book or the movie's plot line, a "big year" refers to an informal competition in which birders try to see the most bird species they can within North America (North of Mexico) in one year.

My concerns were put to rest within the first 5 minutes. I found "The Big Year" humorous and thoughtful. The writing avoided the caricatures often associated with birding. I was in shock to see only one bird poop reference and surprisingly no toilet humor (which I would have expected based on the cast). Direction by David Frankel (Marley and Me, Devil wears Prada) was well-paced.

The story centers upon 3 men each going through their own version of a mid-life crisis and hitting the road in search of finding themselves and birds. Owen Wilson plays the record holder for the "Big Year" who is in constant fear that someone is going to top his record. He must decide between his obsession and his wife. Steve Martin plays a successful but retiring businessman who decides to start doing all the things he put on hold over the years. Jack Black, the poorest and youngest of the three, sets out to make a mark and in turn, finds himself. All three actors showed they do have considerable range beyond their usual comedy shtick.

While this story could have generically fit any obsession, the beauty, magic and mystery of birds clearly rings through. Highly Recommended.