Sunday 11 December 2011

The Big Year

When Dustin the Turkey decided to promote tourism in Leitrim he came up with a slogan which went something like "Leitrim, its not as bad as you'd think!". Well I guess you could say the same thing about 'The Big Year'.
In case you don't already know The Big Year is a movie starring Jack Black, Steve Martin and Owen Wilson based on Mark Obmascik's book of the same title. It describes the story of three US birders competing with one another to complete and win a big year.
I went to see it last night and to be honest, based on reviews and short previews I'd seen, I wasn't expecting much. I read the book when it came out in 2004 and can't remember much of the detail so I couldn't say how true to the book the movie is. I believe not a whole lot. All in all, it wasn't as bad as I expected and in the end you could say I quite enjoyed it. The couple travelling to Attu Island, Alaska for their honeymoon was hilarious, the accommodation on Attu made the Cape Clear Obs look like a Four Seasons Hotel (I love the Cape Clear Obs in case you're reading this Steve). It was good to see Brian Dennehy in a film, can't remember when I last saw him in anything. I would love to have seen a bigger part for Jim Parsons of 'Big Bang Theory' and I'm presuming 'Annie Auklet' played by Anjelica Huston is based on Debi Shearwater?!
So would I recommend you go and see it...........yea, why not! For birders its interesting, its not aimed solely at birders obviously so don't get too caught up in the finer details. If you can't make it to the cinema its certainly worth renting.
Here's a short clip to whet your appetite!

The Big Year

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