Big Fish? or Wet Fish?

Rating: 5/10 (20 April 2004)

I really can't decide whether this is an Ok film that didn't quite push the right buttons, or just a plain non-event of a movie. It's rare that I find myself in this position. Usually I either hate or love a film, or find a movie not worth bothering with at all. But this one, whilst most certainly not impressing me at all, is neither bad enough for me to slate it, nor good enough for me to sing it's praises.
Quite simply, I'm not sure what Burton was trying to do here. I understand all the metaphors and allegories that are present, but the ultimate goal of the film eludes me. Was it to make me think about how I relate to my father? Was it trying to tell me that not all stories are made up, or true? Was it simply trying to point out the difficulties of having a larger than life personality in a boring, mundane world? Is it all of the above? And, at the end, do we actually care?
A film has to be entertaining on some level in order to keep the audience's attention. BF does this, but only just. At no point do you feel any great empathy for the character of the Father, as told in his stories. In fact, there's nothing about the film as a whole which really grasps your attention and demands that you continue watching.
Perhaps the biggest failing, as with many other films, is the hype that surrounds them. BF has been hyped up as a wonderful movie that will astonish and delight. Unfortunately it doesn't deliver on that promise. In the end, it's just the story of a man coming to terms with his father's death and helping through that time and coming to understand himself better in the process. Throw in a few gentle fantasy elements and that's really all there is to Big Fish.
Ultimately not so much of a Big Fish, as the One That Got Away....