http://www.imdb.com/title/tt1053810/

The Big Year. Based on the novel "The Big Year: A Tale of Man, Nature and Fowl Obsession" By Mark Obmascik, it follows 3 guys on their quest to complete and win the "Big Year", a slightly fictionalized account of the real-life informal competition between birders to spot the most bird species in a single year.

When I first heard about The Big Year, I was...curious, but skeptical that it could work. It stars Steve Martin, which I have adored basically my entire life, Owen Wilson, which I can say I moderately tolerate at the best of times, and Jack Black, who I can enjoy immensely but under very certain circumstances. Each of them have their own, very different comedy stylings and from what I knew this film played to none of them. And you add to it the somewhat ridiculous nature of the competition (A film entirely about bird watching? Oh joy.) and you get a less than entirely enthralled BDA, but my curiosity won out and I watched it. (And then I watched it again last night on netflix which is what prompted my writing this review)

And I am here to tell you that The Big Year is among my favorite movies of the last decade and a half. To bury the lead somewhat, everything about it just makes me feel good, as a filmmaker and as a human being. Watching it is like a really good cup of hot chocolate and a blanket in front of the fire on a Alberta winters night.

All three of our leads Martin, Black and Wilson put in some of the best performances of their careers. Black's character, Brad, plays the dual role of one of our 3 leads, as well as being the somewhat omniscient narrator. Brad is a 36 year old divorcee, working full time, and has an overwhelming passion for birds, and a desire to win the Big Year, basically just a normal joe-schmoe. Blacks performance is sweet, kind, and a little awkward, and only on a few occasions does he fall back to his typical Jack Black character. Honestly I can say he really surprised me in this role. Wilson plays the closest thing to a antagonist as this film gets, he's the current world record holder and absolutely driven to make sure he keeps that, but at the same time trying to balance his marriage and life with birding. Wilson plays this character with a restraint and a humanity that I never thought he would have been able to pull off, so much so that by the end of it his story has become such a tragedy that you can't help but look at him and feel sorry for the guy. And Martin plays the CEO of a large self built corporation on the verge of retirement who finally decides that this is the year to do it and decides to go on his Big year. I don't really need to say much about Martin, he puts in an absolutely stellar performance, touching and heart warming, you just can't help but love him. I honestly can not say enough about the performances of these 3 guys, I am absolutely floored by them every time I watch it. Which isn't to take anything away from the rest of cast, everyone in this movie puts in an amazing performance (Not to mention that every side character is some actor/comedian you know from somewhere else. Just to name a few, we have Kevin Pollak, Joel McHale, Paul Campbell, Jim Parsons, Rashida Jones the list goes on and on)

I've heard the complaint that The Big Year feels to mushy and feel-goody, and I can certainly see how some might see it as a bit excessive, I loved every second of it. It feels like a breath of fresh air in the current movie market. In some ways it feels like a harkening back to the movies I grew up on, the family movies of the late 80's and 90's, the movies that didn't need gun fights and car chases to make it enjoyable, but were confident enough in their characters to set the story on them. And The Big Year pulls it off nicely, the characters feel like real people and the story is driven and altered by how they react, and the characters have to live with that choice, and it's all set against an amazing road trip on steroids like backdrop.

Needless to say, I love the hell out of this movie, and considering how ignored it was while in theaters, I definitely say give it a watch.

-BDA

PS. First review!! I know it sucks!