It’s the movie the birding community had hotly anticipated all year.

Now, a few weeks after opening night, The Big Year is garnering praise from some groups and light disapproval from others.

Starring Hollywood’s three funny men, Steve Martin, Owen Wilson, and Jack Black, it’s about three guys vying to spot the most birds in one 12-month period.

Their quest takes them across North America, testing their bird spotting prowess while rocking the boat with their loved ones.

Based on the novel by Mark Obmascik, The Big Year: A Tale of Man, Nature, and Fowl Obsession, the movie is filmed in British Columbia and directed by David Frankel, with many Canadian bird experts serving as advisors on the film. We have collected an assortment of reviews from bird blogs, to the mainstream media, to bird enthusiasts at Nature Canada to give you a snap shot of what is being said about this comedy of birds and men.

“I went to opening night in Penticton, a town in the south Okanagan of British Columbia, with about 45 other birders.  Many of us wore our binoculars and used them in the movie.  This added much to the ambiance.  I enjoyed the movie.  It was fun, the acting was pretty good, and birders were portrayed as real people.  Many of the scenes were filmed in the Okanagan and Vancouver area – knowing this added to my enjoyment.  Though not a great movie, I doubt anyone was expecting that, it was a good movie that is definitely worth a night out at the local theatre.”

–    Ted Cheskey, Nature Canada bird conservation manager

“This film offered up life lessons learned through birding, using characters that were authentic and diverse, not the stereotypes I feared I’d see on screen: Young, old, rich, not-so-rich, men and women brought together by a shared interest. As much about male bonding as it is about birding, the film left me smiling.”

–    Chris Sutton, Nature Canada director of communications

“…bird watching isn’t often treated kindly (or accurately) in movies, and mistakes are so common that sometimes it seems like Hollywood actually tries to get the facts wrong. So it was with pleasure, surprise, and great admiration for the director and stars that I came away from the movie satisfied, intrigued, amused, and even touched by what I’d seen.”
–    Round Robin, The Cornell Blog of Ornithology

In this Youtube clip, BC birding authority Dick Cannings of Bird Studies Canada shares his first impressions of the movie after seeing it with 35 members of the Canadian Migration Monitoring Network in a small theatre in Penticton BC. Cannings was an advisor to some of the scenes in the Okanagan, and one of his books appeared in the film.

“We were all in agreement—it gets two thumbs up! The movie is pretty upfront with their intentions from the very first screen: The Big Year is based on a true story…just the facts have been changed… in its simplest form, it was also a great story that made us admire birds, embrace nature and appreciate the little things in life. It also made all of us proud to be associated with such a great group of people—birders.”

–    By the Editors of Birds &Blooms

For many of us, Nature works like a bank;  it’s where we go to get ‘that special feeling’ when we have the time.  For birders, however, Nature works a little differently. Yes, The Big Year is a bird movie about birders birding – but it’s also a thoroughly entertaining portrayal of our manic, tragic, funny and obsessive relationship with the Nature.  Go see it!

– Peter Cummings, Clearance & Production Resources for The Big Year & Director of BC Ecological Agricultural Trust Society

And from Twitter, these tweets caught my attention

@AKbirder Got2 see #TheBigYear 🙂 What a sweet movie. I giggled 2think of past group-birdathons & feverish excitement 2sight the most birds

– deephil11 12:21am via Twitter for iPhone

The Big Year was a great little movie, really fun to watch and terrific scenery and music. #TheBigYear

– coopiemom Oct 24, 7:39pm via Twitter for iPad

And from the Nature Canada Facebook page:

“I really liked it and think it will be great publicity for birding…especially to see the passion people can have for it. I imagine people were expecting mayhem with the 3 stars and they were funny without being over the top.”

–    Helene Van Doninck

Lastly, there were a few who thought the movie was neither funny, nor accurate:

“The Big Year was alright.  It was neither horrible nor outstanding, neither fully factual nor completely made-up, neither completely engaging nor totally alienating.  I would give it a solid “B-” as a birder…What didn’t I like?  I didn’t like all the things the movie got wrong. Who can focus entirely on a movie and suspend their disbelief when what they are watching is riddled with errors?  Sure, some are done in an attempt to get laughs or for plot purposes but the movie would have been much better if it were more accurate.”

–    By Corey on 10,000 Birds

“As a non-birder, my initial interest in this film came from the promise of comedic relief from some of the greats. I also thought that I maybe able to educate myself in the world of bird watching, at least understand a little better the allure for so many.  While I did learn (about a bird size amount) about the wild world of birding and a few new bird names, I left feeling cheated on both the comedic humor side and the informative side of the film. However, if I were to take one message away from this film, it would be that the world of competitive birding is not for the weak hearted nor is it a laughing matter. This is serious business and I would not want to get in their way. In all I would have to say that if you are a real life birder – you may spend most of your time pointing out the inaccuracies of this film, if you are a fan of the many talented actors in the film, this night not be one to add to your own ‘Big Year’ of funny films.

– Cheri Dawn, development officer, corporate and foundation gifts

“[the Big Year] is more interested in warm and fuzzy life lessons than exploiting the slapstick opportunities inherent in chasing small creatures through inhospitable terrains. The result is an offence-free, mild entertainment in which everyone from cast to scriptwriter seems to be winging it.”

–    Liam Lacey, the Globe and Mail

What did you think of the Big Year? Share your thoughts in the comments below!