Relentlessly Uninteresting

Rating: Null/10 (13 May 2004)

I should sue each and every one of the 14,692 IMDB members who voted this movie to an "8.0" rating. I cannot recall seeing a movie I felt was so vastly overrated. This could be yet another case of a moviegoer (that'd be me, folks) seeing a high rating and building his expectations so high that they are bound to be let down somewhat. Even if those set of circumstances do exist in this instance, that does not make the feelings boiling in my craw any more palatable. This movie is better than I think it is, I'll give you that. But an "8.0?" No, sir. I look at where this film resides on the list of the Top 250 and I see a list of films like RAIN MAN, MIDNIGHT COWBOY, NETWORK, GANDHI. BIG FISH does not belong among that company.
After all this negativity you might be wondering what it is that I didn't like about the film. I must admit that I have nothing original to say about that. My gripes are the same ones you've already heard before: the stories Ed "Big Fish" Bloom kept retelling throughout his life were amazingly boring. The acting was superb, the sets and effects were perfect, the characters were well-written and believable, but all those tall tales were less fascinating than a pair of Dr. Scholl's foot cushions. Speaking of "tall tales," there was a film in the mid-90's called TALL TALE (starring Patrick Swayze) which covered pretty much the same territory in terms of storytelling. Older guy tells outlandish stories to an unbelieving youth who comes to realize there were large nuggets of truth in each tale. Come to think of it, there have been quite a few films with that storyline. BIG FISH reminds me more of TALL TALE than the oft mentioned WIZARD OF OZ.
The other main storyline deals with the redemption of a father-son relationship. This was a far more compelling aspect of the film than the yawn-inducing fish tales. However, it was handled in such a low-key manner that it felt as if Tim Burton borrowed a page from M. Night Shyamalan's "Subtlety Playbook." Unfortunately for Burton there have been some outstanding films dealing with father-son relationships. If I had to rank them I'd put BIG FISH in a distant Fourth Place behind THE GODFATHER pt. 1, THE CHOSEN (a must-see, if you haven't already), and THE EMPIRE STRIKES BACK. You read it right, THE EMPIRE STRIKES BACK! The relationship swings between the Bloom men can't hold a candle to the ones between the Skywalkers. Whereas Will Bloom severed communication with his father for three years because of an inappropriate wedding toast(!), Anakin Skywalker severed his son's hand in a bid to lure him into an evil partnership that would take over control of the galaxy.
BIG FISH is worth seeing, if only for the all-around cast performance. Of special note is Matthew McGrory, a 7'6" giant whose typical character is named something discreet like "Human Sasquatch." Here McGrory gets to play a character who, although he works in a circus sideshow, is a 'real,' likable person who blends in well with the rest of the cast. At the same time he redeems himself for having anything to do with HOUSE OF 1000 CORPSES.
The film is visually stunning, true. Tim Burton is a great director, and a great visionary, who can easily be forgiven for the mess that was PLANET O' THE APES. I'll keep my fingers crossed for his next effort. Hopefully he will be teamed with screenwriters who DO belong in the same room as him.