The Difference Between Lies And Stories

Rating: 8/10 (3 August 2005)

I first got the urge to see this movie after I saw Tim Burton's brilliant take on "Charlie and the Chocolate Factory." All of his movies are usually filled with imagination and heart. "Big Fish" has both. Only, there is less fun in all of the imagination when the main character's amazing stories of his life are questioned by his realistic son.
The entire movie has sincerity and humor, only sometimes you're not sure if half of it is funny. Every actor gives their all, and I think that saves this movie even more. You wonder why this young man (Will Bloom) has so many problems with tall tales told by his dying father (Ed Bloom). It REALLY takes the fun out of the whole movie until the end. That may have been the plan the entire time.
The last few scenes are what touched me the most. It shows that story telling makes life more exciting. What Ed Bloom was telling weren't lies, they were stories. Some people are too realistic, that they forget the fun of imagination. As soon as Will told that last story, you really try not to cry from what a wonderful story teller he had become.