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Remember 'Hook'? Ah, I figured as much. I don't remember much, either. It was a Spielberg flick with Robin Williams playing an adult, yuppie Peter Pan and Dustin Hoffman (Not kidding) playing an old, grouchy Capt. Hook. Hook is trying to get back to the good old days of the two of them dueling in Never Land. The movie did ok in the box-office, but not what a usual, big-budget, Spielberg spectacle should make. However, the movie is famous for being Spielberg's last 'silly' movie. Hmmmmm... 'silly' isn't the right word... until 'Hook', Spielberg was famous for the 'Indy' series and an assortment of incredible adventure movies. All well done, but in the eyes of 'serious' moviemakers his pictures were 'only' adventure films. The irony behind the plot of 'Hook', Peter Pan coming to terms with leaving his fantasy life, wasn't lost on anyone.
A few hick-ups later (remember 'Empire of the Sun'?) Spielberg officially became a 'serious' director, which is good and bad. Good because he's FINALLY getting the props he deserves for being such an amazing artist. Bad in that 'Raiders', 'Jaws', et al were brilliant pieces of story telling, enough of the 'But they're not real FILMS' crap. Put it this way, 'Romeo and Juliet' is about two kids who try and shack-up, they get depressed since their parents keep fighting, and then they both end up dead because someone couldn't figure out the right dosage for a sleeping potion. Think about it, that's IT. Even Shakespeare would say "Um... that really is IT.'
Anyway, the point is Spielberg had to leave a genre that was fun and wonderful to have his peers recognize his stellar talent. This brings us to 'Big Fish'. Tim Burton's works has been on the left-side of fanciful. Whether it's the retro-look of 'Batman' or the extreme goth and Victorian look of 'Sleepy Hollow', Burton loves to have off-the-wall, fish-out-of-water characters dealing with the outside world.
Then Burton directed 'Big Fish.' Burton's canvas in 'Big Fish' isn't filled with only raving madmen like the Joker. Sure, you have the Siamese singers and the mysterious witch. But amidst these colorful characters you have a father who spins a hell of a yarn... maybe a bit too often and bit too much for his own good. There's also a son who takes the world much too seriously, and forgets that as much as you wish your Dad would accept who you are, that goes both ways. As a son, you also have to accept who your father is.
The people created in this movie aren't caricatures that explode off the screen like Jack Nicholson would, nor are they Epic Heroes who require booming voice, like Russell Crowe could managed. These are simply PEOPLE, no better, no worse, coming to terms with death and regrets. The avenues for this enlightenment are the stories told through the father played by Albert Finney. And a bit of advise, if you're sentimental, if you cried at the end of 'Field of Dreams' or at any time during 'Awakenings' you will need tissue at the end of 'Big Fish'.
Is Tim forsaking the joys of the off-kilter and mildly nuts? Not quite. Remember, he's still got Johnny Depp doing 'Charlie and the Chocolate Factor'. Oh yeah! Still, maybe, juuuuuuuust maybe, people will finally see Burton isn't just a ringmaster of a 13-ring circus. He's a phenomenal filmmaker who deserves his respect NOW, not just when he decides to do 'real' movies.