A terrific cast of comic actors and the acclaimed director of the very droll The Devil Wears Prada have been gathered for The Big Year, but they tragically forgot to bring the funny. Earnest and beautifully shot with some of the most gorgeous landscapes and nature photography imaginable, The Big Year just doesn’t make one laugh. At all. And with this kind of talent, that’s a criminal offense if there ever was one.
The Big Year (Blu-ray)
Directed by David Frankel
Studio: 20th Century Fox
Year: 2011
Aspect Ratio: 2.35:1 1080p AVC codec
Running Time: 100 minutes
Rating: PG/NR
Audio: DTS-HD Master Audio 5.1 English; Dolby Digital 5.1 French
Subtitles: SDH, Spanish
Region: A
MSRP: $ 29.99
Release Date: January 31, 2012
Review Date: February 2, 2012
The Film
2.5/5
The hobby of “birding” comes front and center in this comedy about three men at different stages of their lives making a fated attempt to beat the record of 732 observed species of bird in a single calendar year. The record is currently held by Kenny Bostick (Owen Wilson), a birder so protective of his record that he’ll do anything short of the criminal (including inducing seasickness, wrecking a car, giving false leads) to protect his record. Having maxed out his own credit cards and those of his parents, sweet-natured Brad Harris (Jack Black) finds the going tough until he joins forces with millionaire entrepreneur Stu Preissler (Steve Martin) who’s also serious about the hobby. Along the way, life intervenes with marriages crumbling, grandchildren being born, and possible romances coming and going, but the men are determined to make this final stab at “The Big Year” one that counts.
In covering the extensive travels entailed in birding over the course of a calendar year, the film (which shot for two months) must be convincing in a variety of locales and in all four seasons, so kudos to the production designer and special effects artists who with the silken direction of David Frankel have worked overtime to make all of the locations (mostly in Canada) look like the entire globe in miniature. If only Howard Franklin’s script had been inspired to offer something funny to maintain our interest for the 100-minute running time! But the film, despite its scenic splendors, drags: the men aren’t particularly interesting in and of themselves, and despite a couple of sight gags with Jack Black taking pratfalls and a sea gull attack with a rather feeble Hitchcock joke as a button, the comedy is mild at best. Instead, we get subjected to the families and workmates of the three men in question yammering on about their loved ones’ commitment to this year-long quest, confrontations that grow expectedly tedious and are never pleasant to watch. We do get to see an enormous number of guest star cameos from Anjelica Huston to Corbin Bernsen, Steven Weber, Joel McHale, Kevin Pollack, Brian Dennehy, Dianne Wiest, JoBeth Williams, Jim Parsons, and Tim Blake Nelson, wonderful actors all but left with very little to do in their small bits.
Of the three stars, Jack Black most convinces as someone really consumed with bird watching, and while a rudimentary love story gets plugged into the film (the object of his affection: Rashida Jones), he’s more effective as the film’s nominal narrator and the one person for whom making the trip is a real struggle for his family and for himself. Steve Martin as a good guy and Owen Wilson as the film’s ostensible villain (though he’s not really evil, just calculating) add minimal enjoyment to the film letting their familiar screen personas do the heavy lifting in the absence of a memorable script. The lovely Rosamund Pike has a few chilly scenes as the impatient wife of Wilson's Kenny Bostick and does well hiding her natural British accent with a reasonably good American one.
Video Quality
5/5
The film has been framed at a 2.35:1 aspect ratio and is presented in 1080p using the AVC codec. The natural splendors of the various filmed landscapes come through with brilliant color and superb detail in this stunning video transfer. Color is lush, and close-up glimpses of various birds, some of them rare, make one almost feel like he’s watching an episode of Planet Earth or a nature documentary. Flesh tones are realistic as can be, and black levels are rich and deep. Both versions of the film have been divided into 32 chapters.
Audio Quality
4/5
The DTS-HD Master Audio 5.1 sound mix is good but could have come much more alive with a greater attention to surround sounds in the many landscapes where the bird watching is taking place. There are a few split surrounds used to enhance the soundfield, but much more could have been done with this. Instead, Theodore Shapiro’s music is often used for surround enhancement instead of the realistic sounds of nature. Dialogue is well recorded and has been placed in the center channel.
Special Features
3/5
The film offers both the PG-rated theatrical cut or the unrated extended cut of the movie. The extended cut is only three minutes longer and contains no additional scenes from the theatrical version.
All of the video features are presented in 1080p.
“The Big Migration” is an 18 ½-minute featurette detailing the two months of shooting locations ranging from Los Angeles to numerous locales in Canada and the Yukon, New York City, the Everglades, and elsewhere. Among those who discuss the travel are director David Frankel, stars Owen Wilson, Steve Martin, Jack Black, Rashida Jones, and Jim Parsons along with the location manager and director of cinematography Lawrence Sher.
There are twelve deleted scenes which may be viewed separately or in one 17 ½-minute grouping.
The gag reel runs for 6 minutes.
The film’s theatrical trailer runs for 1 ¾ minutes.
The disc is BD-Live ready, but there were no specific bonus features pertaining to this film on the website.
The disc includes promo trailers for In Time and The Best Exotic Marigold Hotel.
The second disc in the set is a combination DVD copy/digital copy of the movie.
In Conclusion
3/5 (not an average)
Pleasant but not much more, The Big Year seems rather fruitless in showing a year in the lives of three men coming to crossroads moments in their working and personal relationships. The Blu-ray features reference picture and good sound along with some decent bonus features which fans of the stars might enjoy seeing once.
Matt Hough
Charlotte, NC
