Average Rating: 5/10
Reviews Counted: 102
Fresh: 40 | Rotten: 62
Though made with care and affection for its characters, The Big Year plods along, rarely reaching any comedic heights.
Average Rating: 5.7/10
Critic Reviews: 31
Fresh: 16 | Rotten: 15
Though made with care and affection for its characters, The Big Year plods along, rarely reaching any comedic heights.
liked it
Average Rating: 3/5
User Ratings: 13,664
Steve Martin, Jack Black and Owen Wilson are at a crossroads -- one is experiencing a mid-life crisis, another a late-life crisis, and the third, a far from ordinary no-life crisis. From David Frankel, the director of The Devil Wears Prada and Marley & Me, comes a sophisticated comedy about three friendly rivals who, tired of being ruled by obligations and responsibilities, dedicate a year of their lives to following their dreams. Their big year takes them on a cross-country journey of wild and
Oct 14, 2011 Wide
Jan 31, 2012
$7.2M
20th Century Fox
All Critics (102) | Top Critics (31) | Fresh (40) | Rotten (62) | DVD (4)
David Frankel's 'The Big Year': 'There is no there there'
The result is an offence-free, mild entertainment in which everyone from cast to scriptwriter seems to be winging it.
Failing even to attempt genuinely humorous gags or scenarios, and incapable of conveying the thrill of its obsessive pastime or the majesty of the animals themselves, this feel-good male weepie remains comedically and dramatically grounded.
Unfortunately, these comic geniuses are kept caged by the wan script and direction. The best gag in the film is the opening title card; the best joke, a throwaway by a day player.
A very mild movie, but in the nicest sense of the word.
What a waste that three of our finest actors are utilized as glorified bit players in such an instantly disposable comedy.
If you can get past the obviously obscure subject matter, you'll find a really sweet film beneath.
If you go into it not expecting big comedy, "The Big Year" can be an enjoyable diversion for an evening. But it helps if you like nature.
Seemingly out of nowhere, "The Big Year" gently flies onto the big screen to become one of the most enjoyable and smartest movies of the year.
Frankel and co might have taken a bolder step into the darkly comedic look of the birder's psyche and added more of a gust of air into this film's feathers ...
If you are stuck in a rut and really want to follow your dreams, try this gentle, light-hearted comedy.
The opposite of the quiet, contemplative activity ornithology is supposed to be, this may well be the joke, in which case it's the only one.
A charming little narrative movie that is so amiably ridiculous that you're sure it must have been invented... The three stars bring their most satisfying games, their comedy small and human-scaled rather than broad and slapsticky..
A comedy with fewer laughs than measles.
A feather-light tale that never really takes off.
It's theoretically possible for laughs to be gouged out of this scenario, but you won't find them here: every move, every joke, every emotion is heaved lumberingly into place.
The Big Year is as glossy and inert as Martin's face, which these days seems to require more foundation than the Burj Khalifa.
Even though it's rather corny and sentimental, this colourful comedy-drama holds our interest mainly because it's about a subject we'd never imagine watching a film about.
Just a load of planes, cranes and Himalayan snowcocks.
Engaging, low-key comedy enlivened by likeable characters, strong performances and an original central premise, though it's slightly undone by an overwritten script and a grating, ever-present voiceover.
Owen Wilson, Jack Black and Steve Martin find a formula for blandness
Veers close to being The Bucketful-of-Birds List. So pleasantly decent and hesitant to be complex that it's rather simple-minded; it just doesn't make an obsession sing to us.
In some alternate universe, a much better version of The Big Year exists, one that embraces the essential, insular weirdness and romantic fanaticism of the birding community it chronicles.
Even if you don't know a sapsucker from a seagull, The Big Year displays unusual heart, and respect for a pastime that could easily be mocked.
So this went under the radar it seems which is a surprise really with a lead cast of Wilson, Martin, Jack Black and including many well known faces with cameos throughout.Not totally surprising after viewing though, the film itself is fine, infact its a lovely original film which is very gentle, easy going and an all
February 4, 2012Super Reviewer
"Everyone is searching for something."Three avid bird watchers compete to spot the rarest birds in North America at a prestigious annual event. REVIEWThe Big Year is on the surface a well-judged comedy with Steve Martin, Jack Black, and Owen Wilson, which does make it pretty sellable. And it is a very nice
February 1, 2012
Super Reviewer
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