Big Fish: Difference between revisions

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Will Bloom, a journalist (Billy Crudup), returns home with his wife to visit his dying father Edward (elder played by Albert Finney, younger played by [[Ewan McGregor]]). He is displeased to find that his father continues to tell the same old [[Tall Tale|tall tales]] he's told all his life, and has now enraptured his wife. Still, he's determined to [[Tell Me About My Father|write his father's story]], and searches for some of the people his father crossed paths with. The further he searches, the more he finds that those stories might not be as far-fetched as they once seemed.

 

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* [[Anachronic Order]]: Sort of. Edward's childhood encounter with the Witch is one of the first stories that he tells Will. We later learn that {{spoiler|she was inspired by the adult Jenny, who began living alone after Spectre dried up and Edward rejected her}}. Because of the [[Unreliable Narrator]], it's hard to tell where/if the latter events fit into Edward's tall tales, but it's still Lampshaded by Will.

'''Jenny''': It's logical if you think like your father.}}

* [[Calling the Old Man Out]]: Will pulls this on Edward at the beginning, accusing his father of being a self-centered asshole who hides behind tall tales because they're easier to deal with than the real world. The rest of the movie follows his attempts at reconciliation.

* [[Combat Pragmatist]]: Edward's [[Dull Surprise|calm]] answer to the North Korean duo's [[What the Fu Are You Doing?|intimidating display]] [[Funny Bruce Lee Noises|of]] skillful martial arts is a pair of [[Night Vision Goggles]]... and [[Battle Discretion Shot|a total]] [[Relax-O-Vision|blackout]].

* [[Conjoined Twins]]

{{quote|'''Edward''': Your name's different. Did you get married?

'''Jenny''': Yeah. I was 18, he was 28. Turns out it was a big difference.}}

* [[Lighter and Softer]]: Surprisingly, one of [[Tim Burton]]'s more recent films that [[Playing Against Type|isn't dark or gothic.]]

* [[Love At First Sight]]: Edward upon first seeing Sandra.

* [[Scare Dare]]: Here it's an ''abandoned house''. {{spoiler|It's a witch. For real. She is also the unlucky [[Love Interest]], [[Merlin Sickness|living backward in time]].}}

* [[Self-Fulfilling Prophecy]]: One possible interpretation of Don Price (see [[Alternative Character Interpretation]]). As a child, the Witch showed him that he would die at a very young age, and he became terrified of dying alone. As a result, he became incredibly possessive of Sandra, the first girl who agreed to marry him. Then, when Edward made advances on Sandra, Don beat him to a pulp. His violent actions shocked Sandra so much that she left him, and the physical exertion from the fight caused him to die of a heart attack at age 20. Just as the Witch predicted.

* [[Shrouded in Myth]]: Ed's particular problem, which has caused a few years of estrangement. No one can tell which stories he tells are true and which are just him spinning yarns.

* [[Single-Target Sexuality]]: Edward Bloom. His son Will thinks he {{spoiler|had an affair with Jenny}} until it turns out that {{spoiler|it was completely platonic}}.

 

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[[Category:Films of the 2000s]]