The Big Year opened this weekend. Just about anyone who has ever birded (not gone birdwatching, but birded) has been waiting since we heard that the book by Mark Obmascik was being made into a film. We wondered how birders would be portrayed on screen and how we’d be perceived by the viewing public.
The film is fiction, based on a non-fiction book chronicling three top tier birders who set out to do a ‘Big Year’. This is a competition to see the most species of birds in North America in one year. (we have 969 species ) It’s a loose competition though, based on the honor system. Few birders are at this skill level or have the money/time to devote to birding for a full year. There is no prize other than bragging rights.
Learning the cast gave birders a thrill. With three big names, how could it not be a great movie or at least not raise birding to Olympic levels? Steve Martin, Owen Wilson, Jack Black. Remembering back to the book, Martin is a good choice for his character. Jack Black, spot on. However the third guy doesn’t conjure up Owen Wilson for me, as I remember him as older and much more New Jersey caustic (I’m from NJ so can say that). Wilson played him as a bit of an insensitive rock star, but other birders seemed to flock to him.
Angelica Huston gives a spot on portrayal of a well known pelagic boat operator who has little patience for listers (birders who only want to see a bird, then move on quickly) and tells these guys what she thinks of them. But she’s the only show in town and birders need her.
We all know someone with the obsession (or some other obsession for that matter), who puts his/her life on hold for a time period in order to achieve a goal. There are a lot of egos and family relations suffer.
So it’s a fun romp for viewers. The scenery is fabulous. The travel is amazing, thank goodness for modern technology, which was not used in the 1998 Big Year chronicled in the book.
Jean birding at Los Quetzales
Now, while the main characters were pretty cool, one even sophisticated, the rest of the birders in crowd shots looked a bit goofy. Honestly, who would take a new bride on a honeymoon to Attu? Did she read the brochure? Grounds for annulment. And the fallout at High Island was a bit much. Other than our main three guys, the rest of the birders were actually running with binoculars at their eyes. That’s dangerous. The film made it seem that all birders were acting as a unit, going from one spotting to the next, never really taking time to see a bird, or drink in the beauty of the surroundings. One rare occasion was the witnessing the spectacular dance of bald eagles mating in flight, when each man realized he missed his mate back home.
There seemed to be no product endorsement, which was surprising in a sport that utilizes expensive equipment. No doubt each of these birders used binoculars that retail for $2500. Very rarely was a scope set up for viewing.
As a birder, I hope the general public goes to see this movie. Just having it made was amazing to me, thinking there was not an audience for it. However, birding is said to be the fastest growing sport in the country with millions if not more spent on birding, including feeding backyard birds, purchasing optics and field guides, and travel hither and non to add another one to one’s life list.
