Movie Review - Big Fish

Standard United States Citizen with No Attention Span Mini-Review: One of the best movies I've seen. Simple as that.

Ok, let's get thing stated like this right off, because no shit about it, I really do think it's this simple. Go see this movie. Don't read a thing about it, just go into it expecting to see a movie, and see if you don't like it. I mean it.

If you're the kind of person who absolutely needs more information before you spend eight of your hard-earned dollars on a Hollywood movie, I'll bend a little and give you this as a description of sorts. Call it a movie with the "awe shucks" feel of a Forest Gump, only without the campy innocence that never worked for me anyway. Combine that with a fairy tale attitude, some truly bizzare bits (Burton made a movie about a guy with scissors for hands for God's sake!), and just enough humor. Wrap it all in a story line about your standard Father-Son relationship - mending fences - type deal, and there you go.

I promise I'll wait until you get back from the movies before I say anything more. I'll even give you an extra picture right now if you go. Seriously, go see the movie. Here:

So there we go... hopefully you're back, and will enjoy the rest of the review. If you're the stubborn sort, and still just reading along, I'll try not to spoil anything.

A synopsis, I suppose. The elder Ed Bloom is your typical 'big fish in a small pond' (to resort to the phrase). Lived his whole life telling tall tales about himself to anyone who'll listen. Including his son Will, who eventually resents his dad for what he feels has been a lifetime of half-truths at best about what really is the story of his life. As far as story arc goes, it seems a bit skimpy. But the devil is in the details, I assure you. This is a rich, beautiful film.

The cast: Albert Finney is wonderful as the aged Ed Bloom. If you haven't seen him in Miller's Crossing, you should. Otherwise you may know him as Daddy Warbucks (you're on your own if you don't get the reference). In the many flashback sequences, the young Ed Bloom is played by the young Obi Wan... err, of course I mean Ewan McGregor. He's also quite wonderfully talented. Will Bloom is played in adult form by Billy Crudup, who you might remember from Almost Famous. Ed's wife Sandra is played by Jessica Lange and Alison Lohman, in order of descending movie age. Marion Cotillard plays Will's wife, in what is apparently her first non-french film.

Steve Buscemi is, as always, wonderful in his bit part. Robert Guillaume is wonderful as Benson... and as the Doctor in this movie. Even Danny DeVito is loveable (somewhat) as the owner of a carnival who also happens to be a werewolf (oops, a spoiler - see, I told you to go first).

Finally, I'd be remiss if I didn't mention Deep Roy. He plays DeVito's character's lawyer, named Mr. Soggybottom. You don't know Deep, but he was in The Dark Crystal, The second Pink Panther movie, Starship, and played a character named Droopy McCool in Return of the Jedi. Can't argue with that resume. It's also quite fun to begin a sentence "You don't know Deep..."

Honestly, I don't think I should say too much more about this movie. Yes, it does have parts that are just flat-out surreal. Deal with it. What it does wonderfully is tell the tale of a man's life in a form which we'd all like to think of ourselves - larger than life. Yes, the ending is cheesy. It's also perfect, and I will admit that I wasn't too far from being choked up about it.

In summation... Big Fish. Yes.

Ah crap... clearly I'm a little off my game. I almost forgot to give this a Trent rating. Catastrophe averted, half-Trent.

Damn skippy I mean that rating. Ok, now I'm out. Peace.

-1/21/04