As of late it seems as if more movies are being made either teaming up unlikely actors or trying to bring a group together to create something special that no one expected to happen. The latest throws Jack Black, Owen Wilson and comedy genius Steve Martin together for The Big Year. Martin doesn’t do a whole lot of films these days so seeing him on screen is a rare treat, but throwing him into a film with these guys could be a brilliant move of comedy disaster.
The Big Year follows 3 men in search of something be the best at to have their lives fulfilled and have meaning. They try to find it competing with each other in a competition to see who can spot the most species of birds in North America in one calendar year, but get more than they bargained for. This is one of those movies that works on some levels, but fails on others. The cast is great and work well together, but maybe not so much in this story. The biggest issue going into this movie was its promotion. The trailers tried to bill it as a comedy, which given the cast was not a surprise. What you really get is somewhat of a complex inner journey of these three men with some decent amusing moments. The story is decent enough and is successful in what it’s going for, but sadly the payoff seemed a bit small. This film is a film about personal journey and growth as well as obsession and what it can cost you. While well-crafted and cast the end result seems to have been a bit rushed with very little emotional resolve. The guys have great chemistry together with Black and Martin working the best together and both delivering good performances. Wilson does good job as well, but seems to really just be playing a pretty generic character with very little range.
This isn’t a bad movie, it’s rather touching and inspirational at times, but could have been so much more. There is some great talent here that just wasn’t given all that much to do. Go into this film knowing that it is not a straight comedy and you will most likely enjoy it a lot more.
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