The Year in Review

One of the "if you blinked, you missed it" films of 2011 was The Big Year. It starred Steve Martin, Jack Black, and Owen Wilson as birding enthusiasts competing to spot the most different bird species in a single calendar year. Intrigued by that cast with solid comedy credentials, I decided to check out the movie.

The big surprise of The Big Year is that, despite the pedigree, the film really isn't a comedy. It has only one, maybe two genuine laughs in the entire film (and they aren't delivered by any of the three big stars). If anything, the movie is a sad look at the cost of obsession, what a person gives up in pursuit of a goal. But the movie doesn't exactly meditate on any truths there either; mostly, it's just a simple little story about a somewhat quirky subject.

The cast is the main draw, and it doesn't stop with the three stars I've named. Supporting roles in the film are played by Rashida Jones, Anjelica Huston, Jim Parsons, Dianne Wiest, JoBeth Williams, Brian Dennehy, and more. It's a bit unclear to me what about this script spoke so deeply to so many fairly big names, but their presence does keep things entertaining even when though they're never laugh out loud funny.

Another major draw of the film might be its impressive locations. The sweeping vistas of the movie are postcard ready (even if many of them are places near Vancouver doubling for parts of the U.S.). There may even be a moment or two where you get briefly caught up in the notion of seriously taking up birding as a hobby, if it would take you to places as gorgeous as those in the film.

Objectively speaking, the movie isn't bad. But it's hard not to be somewhat disappointed by it because of completely mismatched expectations. I'll try to put all that into perspective and grade the movie a B-. You may well find it enjoyable, but you should go in without expecting any big laughs. It has the quirky vibe of a Christopher Guest mockumentary, but apparently none of the comedic aspirations.