Big Fish: 8/10

Rating: 8/10 (7 February 2004)

Weird in movies is good. There's different types of weird, but it mainly boils down to two types: Tim Burton weird and David Lynch weird. Both are pretty similar, actually, except that Burton has a reason for his weirdness, while Lynch just throws it out there. I enjoy Lynch's more, but Burton's is nice to look at, and instead of creating a puzzle that seems impossible to solve, Burton creates new worlds, stuff that can never happen but is just close enough to seem believable. In his new Big Fish, Burton likes to get as weird as he can get, but has to stay within the boundaries of mainstream movies (I'll get to that).
Edward Bloom (Albert Finney) is notorious for telling tall tales, which delight most people, but always seemed to annoy his son Will (Billy Crudup). He's upset because he doesn't really know much about his father. When he learns that his father is dying, he travels back to his home in Alabama, while the audience sees some of Edward's tall tales, with Ewan McGregor as the younger Ed. There, he encounters giants, werewolves, a town that seems to be taken out of something from the Twilight Zone, and a witch with a glass eye.
Burton certainly is imaginative. He has some great ideas for weirdness, which are all executed extremely well. Everything comes off well, and Burton leaves us in some weird place, and we seem to just accept it. The movie thrives on leaving the audience wondering what was about what they just saw. Unlike Lynch, Burton doesn't require us to make connections; he explains it all. But that's where the one major flaw comes in. All of the weirdness is so well done that when the necessary plot developments in today's time come along, it takes away from the flow of the story, and it leaves the audience's attention waning. The story of Edward Bloom dying is not very exciting, the story of Edward Bloom's supposed past is exciting.
Big Fish has a very intricate story. There's a slew of characters who seem to come in randomly, and who look/sound like others, and live in the same place as others. Instead of, just say, taking away development from someone who doesn't really matter, like Will's wife, they take away some connecting points that could help the story make sense. On the other hand, the movie did have some very funny moments, with odd dialogue thrown in to make it funnier. Danny DeVito, as a circus ringmaster with a very odd situation, comes off great, as does Steve Buscemi, who's a "famous poet" who was part of the odd town of Spectre and goes into an unusual profession now.
Everyone's been raving about how much Ewan McGregor and Albert Finney look alike, which was very fortuitous. I didn't really think they looked that similar, but that doesn't take away from the superior acting job by Albert Finney. He not only got into his role, but seemed like he had a fun time doing it. However, he's the only one who really stands out; everyone else just "acts", nothing more, nothing less. The score, by longtime Burton partner Danny Elfman, is barely noticeable. If there was any music in it at all, I didn't notice it.
I would like to see Big Fish again for one thing. Burton seems to be a director who has fun with his movies. He references a lot of his other movies in his movies. I caught a reference to Edward Scissorhands, but all others eluded me. Overall, Big Fish is a fun movie with some very weird qualities, but some qualities that aren't particularly great.
My rating: 8/10
Rated PG-13 for a fight scene, some images of nudity and a suggestive reference.