Cold Fish

Rating: Null/10 (9 January 2004)

Surprisingly, Tim Burton's new film is quite lifeless outside of its breathtaking visuals. There are moments when the movie is sugar sweet in its attempt to
depict the fantastic world of Edward Bloom, but the eye candy doesn't seem to have a lot of emotional depth (although it strains as hard as it can). The toggling of the narrative between Bloom's older self (Finney), who is disconnected from his grown son (Crudup), and his adventurous younger self (McGregor) is
uneven and tries so hard to form an emotional experience, but ultimately is so thin that there is no great payoff. It is odd that Burton does not succeed where his film "Edward Scissorhands" did. They similarly rely on elements of fantasy and reality cross-pollinating.
The biggest fault lies in the miscasting of McGregor, who labors with his
Southern accent and never seems at home in any part of the film. McGregor,
who has had some brilliant performances in his past, most recently in "Young
Adam," is unable to be effective in his role. Miscasting plagues several other areas of the film, Helena Bonham Carter being the most glaring. Yet, there are some very nice moments by Allison Lohman, Billy Crudup, and the actress that
plays Crudup's wife. Finney has been better in a myriad of films, "The Browning Version" being one of his overlooked gems, and Jessica Lange has no
character to sink her teeth into and is quite wasted in this film.
Of course the film is littered with outrageous characters: Danny Devito's
carnivale ringmaster, Carl the friendly giant, and Steve Buscemi's poet laureate (sp?) to name a few. And while there are warm moments for each of these
characters to show their eccentricities, they don't add up to a very involving movie. Given all the praise this movie is getting, it seems odd that it seems hollow. Instead of ingesting this confection, it is well advised to watch
Zemeckis's "Forrest Gump," Burton's "Edward Scissorhands," or even Burton's
"Pee Wee's Big Adventure."
Although I will note that several people I have talked to vehemently disagree with my reaction. It seems to be one of those movies that affects people or
leaves them unsatisfied... or even dissatisfied. I fall into the latter camp and warn others that the gooey praise heaped on this film is unjustified. I have a feeling that Burton has followed the pattern of many 70's directors who had a decade or so worth of great product in them but faded into mediocrity (Coppola, Cimino, Raefelson, Friedkin, Lumet, De Palma, etc.).