Kids review The Big Year

For family night the kids and I went to see The Big Year.  We had a great time and all the kids liked it.  My 10 year old "loved it" and gave it 5/5 stars.  My 14 year old gave it 3.5 stars, and my 7 year old gave it 4 stars.  While it was rated PG, my kids thought maybe it should be almost PG-13 for the mild language and a few sexual situations.  But they especially liked Jack Black, and he did a great job as a birder contending to see the most birds in North America, competing against Steve Martin and Owen Wilson.  My 10 year old thought the first part was the best and funniest, and the second half was more serious--as the costs of hard-core birding take their toll on the characters.  The kids were sad how much one of the characters in particular was willing to give up in his single-minded pursuit of birds.

I was happy that the kids enjoyed the funny parts, but also responded to the more serious side of the film.  We all laughed hard during Jack Black and Steve Martin's were crazy helicopter ride chasing Himalayan Snowcocks over the Ruby Mountains of Nevada, but our hearts also warmed when Jack Black and Brian Dennehey go owling in the snow and several other tender family moments.  All in all The Big Year has a very pro-family message that nothing is more important than our loving relationships and family.

So my oldest now wants to go to Attu (better start saving those pennies--it's not an inexpensive trip!).  My ten year old thinks a big year would be fun.  My youngest not so much--"all that searching!" seems like too much for her.

I'll write my own review later, but it was great for me to be able to share this with my kids.  There were only three other people in the theater with us, so sadly this may not be a film to last long in the theaters.  As others have said, it isn't Citizen Kane--but it does have a number of touching and even subtly profound moments.