Another great Tim Burton movie

Rating: 8/10 (27 January 2004)

Scot Ewen McGregor and Brit Albert Finney star as Edward Bloom, a "big fish" in the small pond of Ashton, Alabama. Edward's tall tales impress and entertain everyone except his son Will. Will is most bothered that, at the age of 30 and about to have his first child, he still knows little of who his father really is. So when Will gets a call from his mother (Jessica Lange, looking great at 55) saying his father is dying of cancer, Will used the opportunity to get to know the truth about the man.
Told completely in flashback from several characters, Will learns of his father's successes and failures. From his childhood, when he and four friends visited the local witch (Helena Bonham Carter), who could predict when and how he would die; to his adolesence, when he starred on the high school baseball, football, and basketball teams, and then befriended a wandering giant; to his adulthood, when he roamed around Alabama, finding the perfect town of Spectre, joining the Calloway (Danny Devito) Circus, seeing the love of his life ("White Oleander"'s Alison Lohman), and spending the next three years pursuing her.
Worth mentioning is the supporting cast, a fabulous array of famous actors and unknowns who contributed to "Big Fish." The visual effects were done perfectly, just enough to enhance the story without taking control of the movie.
Much like "Forrest Gump" with Burton's trademark quirkiness, "Big Fish" is a trip through time as seen through one man's life.
Rating note: There is some brief nudity, without which "Big Fish" probably could have gotten away with a PG. But this is far from a kids' movie. Suggested ages: middle school and up.