Terrific Tall Tales Told Well

Rating: 8/10 (10 December 2003)

Wow. A whole lot of fun on so many levels.
At its core, Big Fish is a series of tales told by Edward Bloom (Finney) that are throwbacks to a time when the ability to tell a tall tale carried some weight. (Pecos Bill, Paul Bunyan, Uncle Remus, etc.) The plot is exceedingly thin serving as a string to hang the tales on and nothing more. (Why the hell can't William Bloom/Crudup, get over it?! Oh yeah, we need a payoff in the end.) Still, this is a comedy/fantasy so don't look for Macbeth. Besides, the actors in these tales don't need a greater purpose other than to astound and amuse. And they do. Terrific performances by all the principals but special credit to McGregor and Finney for diving into to the part of Edward Bloom and making him a real person.
I can't think of a better director to handle this material. This is the gentle Tim Burton of Edward Scissorshands and Pee-Wee's Big Adventure in control here. The dark Tim Burton of Planet of the Apes and Batman are nowhere to be found.
For movie lovers, Burton throws several references to other films for your delight. Tip: The banjo player IS the same fellow who made the music famous 20 years ago. Trust me, you will get this when you see it.
In this season of major releases with casts of (CGI) thousands, it is fun to see a film that uses the location as a character and special effects that don't rely on computers to make them magical.