The Big Year
Fox 2000 Pictures | Release Date: October 14, 2011 CRITIC SCORE DISTRIBUTION
53
METASCORE
Mixed or average reviews based on 29 Critic Reviews
Positive:
13
Mixed:
14
Negative:
2
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Critic Reviews

Critic scorePublicationBy date
60
Time OutA.A. DowdOct 14, 2011
The School of Rock funnyman flies highest; passion, be it for rare birds or the Yardbirds, is a plumage he wears wonderfully. Read full review
60
New York Daily NewsJoe NeumaierOct 14, 2011
This one could have flown over the cuckoo's nest, or smacked into a glass pane, but instead lands in the middle of the road where quirky and popular meet. Read full review
60
TimeMary PolsOct 13, 2011
Black fans may hardly recognize him, because for once he plays a person instead of a walking comedy mask atop a Buddha belly. Read full review
58
Christian Science MonitorPeter RainerOct 14, 2011
Even though none of these guys is ready to kick the bucket, The Big Year has an unmistakable affinity with "The Bucket List." Read full review
50
St. Louis Post-DispatchJoe WilliamsOct 14, 2011
The Big Year puts the focus on people who aren't inherently interesting - or funny. Read full review
50
New York PostLou LumenickOct 14, 2011
Yet despite the efforts of an excellent cast headed by three top comedy names -- Owen Wilson, Steve Martin and Jack Black -- and tons of beautiful scenery (mostly British Columbia and the Canadian Yukon), this movie stubbornly refuses to take flight, or generate more than a few chuckles. Read full review
50
The Globe and Mail (Toronto)Liam LaceyOct 13, 2011
The result is an offence-free, mild entertainment in which everyone from cast to scriptwriter seems to be winging it. Read full review
50
San Francisco ChronicleAmy BiancolliOct 13, 2011
Those who should go near The Big Year, if not flock to it, are fans of avians, mild PG comedy and gorgeously shot travel footage dotted with humans. Read full review
50
Washington PostAnn HornadayOct 13, 2011
Somehow, the comic chemistry never seems to ignite in The Big Year. Read full review
50
Chicago TribuneMichael PhillipsOct 13, 2011
This is a gentle, diffident concoction. But it has barely enough pulse to power a hummingbird. Read full review
50
VarietyBrian LowryOct 13, 2011
Director David Frankel's picture delivers sweet and (more rarely) amusing moments, but this odd duck never completely gets off the ground. Read full review
50
ObserverRex ReedOct 11, 2011
I wish all the agony in The Big Year was leading up to something fascinating in the end, but the most inviting thing in the movie was the exit door. Read full review
42
The A.V. ClubKeith PhippsOct 12, 2011
In The Big Year co-stars Owen Wilson and Jack Black appear on the verge of succumbing to the same terminal blandness that's gripped Martin for so long. Read full review
40
Austin ChronicleKimberley JonesOct 19, 2011
The Big Year's biggest disappointment is its inadequacy in elucidating the passion of the birder. What ardency, and what an exceptional, impenetrable world they move in. I for one wanted a better look at it. Read full review
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