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I saw Rabbit-Proof Fence and Heaven at The Montreal Film Festival this weekend. I'll write reviews for them this week or the next. Today, we have a script review for Tim Burton's next film and the 2nd edition EVER of DeadPool's Mail Diary. Some more good stuff this later week... No teasing!

Big Fish Script Review

"This is a Southern story, full of lies and fabrications, but truer for their inclusion" reads the title card that John August starts off his second draft (dated June 29th, 2000) of Big Fish with. Based on the novel by Daniel Wallace, this disclaimer couldn't ring any truer. Big Fish is a screenplay about lies and tall tales, almost like The Usual Suspects crossed with Paul Bunyan and intertwined with everyday life, and that is its major flaw.

The script starts off with Edward Bloom telling the story of how his son, Will, was born. This story is not your typical one. Edward wasn't around for Will's birth, instead, he was fishing for a huge catfish known simply as "The Beast". The bait is something you would never guess, it's not a worm, not a piece of cheese, it's Edward's wedding ring. Edward uses his wedding band on the fish because, in his story, the fish is actually the ghost of a thief, and what else do thieves like? Gold. August puts this one story told numerous times through about a thirty year time, starting with Will as a child, to Will and his girlfriend on Prom night, to Will's college graduation, and finally, his wedding day. Will knows these stories by heart and he knows they aren't true. His father is like a ringleader in a circus (ironically, later on he becomes one), he has a charisma that works on everybody else except Will. The stories worked when he was young, but now, they are just old and Will struggles to go through the lies and find out who his father really is.

Of course, Edward is on his death bed and Will must try and reconcile with his ailing father. It's cliche and I feel like Will's part is horribly written. We know that his father spins these tall tales and some may have a bit of truth in them, but all Will does is bitch about it and claim that he is "a footnote in that story". With Tim Burton casting Ewan McGregor as Young Edward and Albert Finney as Edward, I feel sorry for Ewan. I feel sorry for all the talent attracted to this project. This script, while entertaining, is like another Forrest Gump for me. I loath Forrest Gump because it presses the boundaries of reality too much. Granted, some great movies press reality, but they don't really try to be realistic and then fake us out.

I know this isn't John August's fault. He is a great, extremely gifted screenwriter. As of now, I can only blame the source material for it's cliched unbelievable plot. Don't get me wrong, the script is entertaining. But, you feel like you're being lied to half the time, and not always when Edward is weaving one of his tall tales. Something just doesn't feel right about it. It's hard to explain.

I don't really know what else to say about August's Big Fish. There must have been some revisions between this draft and the shooting script they are on now. I can't imagine otherwise why so many talented actors and directors would be attracted to this. (I just want to say again, this is not John August's fault. I have not read the novel, but something tells me I would dislike that as well.) I mean, August's dialogue is well written, and Edward is extremely well done, character/dialogue wise. Take this for example:

We LEAD Edward as he walks away, tears just starting to form.

EDWARD (V.O.)
Fate has a cruel way of circling around on you. After all this work to leave Ashland, I was now in love with one of its girls, who was engaged to one of its biggest jerks.

He EXITS FRAME leaving only the sorority house in the background.

EDWARD (V.O.)
There's a time when a man needs to fight, and a time when he needs to accept that his destiny is lost, that the ship has sailed, and that only a fool would continue.

A beat. Edward steps back INTO FRAME, looking at the sorority house.

EDWARD (V.O.)
The truth is, I've always been a fool.