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Big Fish | 2003 | PG-13 | - 4.4.3

Tim Burton directs this modern fairy tale about a man (Albert Finney) who's been telling tall tales all his life, telling everybody how as a young man (played by Ewan McGregor) he left his small Alabama town to go around the world, and back again, and how he encountered giants and witches. But now he's dying, and his estranged son (Billy Crudup) tries to make sense of his father. Also with Jessica Lange and Danny DeVito. Directed by Tim Burton [2:05]

SEX/NUDITY 4 - A man and a woman kiss in a few scenes, and a man and a woman lie in bed together talking (he's bare-chested). A woman climbs into a bathtub with a man, she lies on top of him, and they hug (they are both dressed). A man sits on a toilet looking at a pornographic magazine (we see his bare legs, with boxers around his ankles). A trailer vibrates and rocks wildly (it does not turn out to be anything sexual). A nude woman swims around a submerged car with a man inside (we see her bare buttocks and part of her bare breasts). We see a nude woman from the back (her bare back and buttocks) a few times. We see a nude man from the back (his bare buttocks are seen) and the front to the waist (we see his bare chest). Two women (they're conjoined twins with two torsos and one set of legs) dance seductively on stage and wear revealing gowns (bare thighs and cleavage are shown). We see a man having a bath in a large tub (we see part of his bare chest and shoulders). A man talks about his father having been the milkman and that his mother was unfaithful. Women wear dresses that are low-cut and reveal cleavage. A woman wears a very tight and low-cut dress revealing cleavage and accentuating her figure.

VIOLENCE/GORE 4 - A man punches a man in the face twice, kicks him in the stomach, and punches and kicks him repeatedly (we see him with a bruised and bloody face and blood in his mouth). A man knocks on the door of a trailer, opens the door, a wolf lunges at him knocking him to the ground, another man takes aim with a gun, and shoots and grazes the man. A man dies and we see people grieving at a funeral. A man parachutes out of a plane, lands on a stage, beats up a few military guards, and fights two men in a pitch black room (we hear punches landing). A man walks along a dark and eerie road, a crow grabs his hat off his head, he throws a rock at the crow, it hits a hornets' nest, the hornets attack him (he has a few welts on his face from stings), and he runs through thick spider webs and is covered by spiders. A man fires two guns in the air while robbing a bank, and takes hostages. Five children walk through dark woods while talking about a woman who is said to be a witch; we hear that she keeps one of her eyes in a jar, and that she eats children and puppies. A boy walks toward the door of a house, cats screech and run across his path, a woman with an eye patch opens the door and he is startled. Two people see themselves dying (reflected in a woman's eye) in the future: One falls off a ladder and one has a heart attack and falls on the floor (we see these scenes a couple of times). A man is hit by an amusement park ride, he's tossed through the air and lands hard on the ground. A man is grabbed and jostled by limbs of trees that become animated. A snake swims toward a woman standing in a river, a man swims after it, grabs it and it turns out to be a stick. A giant tips a car over on its side (two women inside scream). A man throws a rock at a giant and it hits him in the head. A woman collapses and screams when she is notified that her husband died. A man learns that his father is dying of cancer. A man approaches the mouth of a cave that is surrounded by bones, with vultures picking at them. A man stands in a cage with motorcycles speeding around him. Two men are chased by security guards as they "escape" from a hospital. A man drives a car recklessly, going very fast, going the wrong direction, etc. People threaten to hurt a giant (they are a mob and carry pitchforks and other implements). A giant's booming voice knocks a man onto the ground. A baby shoots (literally) out of a woman (during childbirth) and slides along the floor of a hallway before a woman catches him and holds him up (he has a bit of slime on him). A woman lifts an eye patch to reveal her eye and we see that it is milky white. A man's leg is covered with leeches. A man lies in a hospital bed and we hear that he has had a stroke. A man drops another man into a river and we see him go under the surface. People say things like "he ate my dog" and "he ate my whole corn field" about a giant. A man asks, "I didn't kill anything did I"? A cat jumps from a high perch into a pillow held by a man below. A man blows fire and puts flaming torches in his mouth, and a man puts his head in a lion's mouth. Players are knocked around on a football field. A man wrestles a very large fish, and a man talks about gutting a fish. A man talks about the lore of an un-catchable fish that was said to be the ghost of a man. We see a skull reflected in a fishing lure. People talk about death and dying. An elephant defecates while a man stands next to it sweeping up. A man scratches his face with his very dirty foot. A boy pops the buttons off his shirt and the seams off his shirt when he grows rapidly.

LANGUAGE 3 - 3 sexual references, 3 scatological terms (one spelled out), 5 mild obscenities.

SUBSTANCE USE - People are shown smoking cigarettes and drinking alcohol.

DISCUSSION TOPICS - Strained relationships between fathers and sons, bankruptcy, myths, true love, destiny, fidelity, fiction vs. reality, pride, determination, romance, exploring opportunities, the military draft, real estate speculating.

MESSAGE - No man can avoid reaching the end of his life. We are immortalized by the stories that we tell. Just because something sounds interesting and fantastic does not mean it isn't real.

CAVEATS

Be aware that while we do our best to avoid spoilers it is impossible to disguise all details and some may reveal crucial plot elements.

We've gone through several editorial changes since we started covering films in 1992 and older reviews are not as complete & accurate as recent ones; we plan to revisit and correct older reviews as resources and time permits.

Our ratings and reviews are based on the theatrically-released versions of films; on video there are often Unrated, Special, Director's Cut or Extended versions, (usually accurately labelled but sometimes mislabeled) released that contain additional content, which we did not review.


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