Larger Than Life

As with most animal/comedian movies, I thought this one would be a bomb. However, it wasn't as bad as I expected. The plot is decent and the funny parts are mostly funny, instead of just stupid. Kids and adults both will enjoy the elephant and the occasional outdoor scene, as Bill Murray and his new friend trek across the beautiful American countryside. This movie also touches on serious topics like animal abuse. Bill Murray is funny as usual and Matthew McConaughey puts in an unusual and funny performance. This movie isn't going to win any Oscars, but provides good entertainment, without resorting to sex or violence. I gave it 7 out of 10.

I think, if you take a moment, you can actually see that this movie is an interesting metaphor for the grieving process.

Grief can be seen as a big uncontrollable thing that you didn't even know was yours until you have it laid in your lap. Then you have to figure out what to do with it, maybe make friends with it. Maybe find some way to control it. And, eventually, you have to give it up.

This could have been a stupid, idiotic film. Well, actually, it /is/ a stupid, idiotic film. But it works, mostly because of Bill Murray's performance.

A man who has to unload his father's trained elephant does not make for a promising story, comic or dramatic. What makes this film work is Murray's generally laid-back performance. His character -- a motivational instructor who teaches patient and thoughtful behavior -- displays such. He rarely gets badly upset, and there's little of the frantic slapstick one would expect from other actors. (I suspect Roy Blount was consciously writing such a story.) When a reviewer states that the film misses the obvious sight gags its premise suggests -- well, that's the point of it, right?

This isn't a film that demands a second viewing. But it's far better than you might expect, and its refusal to assault the viewer is welcome. It's a perfect film when you don't want to watch anything demanding.

PS: I just love the parents who say this (and other films) are good family films because they lack sex, violence, adult language, etc. Unfortunately, most such films are garbage that pervert a child's taste.

I would probably have given up on this movie had it not been showing in the middle of the night against infomercials and test patterns. It takes about 30 minutes before it really gets going, when Bill Murray and Vera hit the road. Bill Murray's performance is serviceable if unspectacular; it's a rather underwritten role that could have been played by most anyone, but the low-wattage version of Murray's charm does come through from time to time. Janeane Garofalo is well-used in a small role, but Matthew McConnaughey makes the most vivid impression in truly goofy part as an insane truck driver. Except for exposition, the first quarter or so of the film is dull, but the rest makes for pleasant if low-key entertainment. The "relationship" between man and elephant is genuinely touching.

Jack Corcoran is an inspiration speaker who is trying to get his career moving to get the bigger gigs after having a best selling book. He bases his theory on his ability to get over his father's death just before his birth. He is surprised to find his father has just died and has actually left him an inheritance. He travels out to collect to find that his father was a clown and his inheritance is substantial -–in fact she's an elephant. Now he has less than a week to get across country to deliver the elephant to one of several interested parties.

Around about this period Bill Murray films kinda sunk to a bit of a low in terms of money making and quality. One thing has kept him a star however and that's himself – even an average film can be made enjoyable by him, and that's what happens here. The plot is predictable – who will he give the elephant to, the evil trainer or the jungle bunny? Will he make it in time? The answers are easy, but no matter. The message about loving animals etc are a little sentimental and don't sit well with the idea that we are actually watching an animal that belongs to a movie organisation such as the one being shown here as evil!

The comedy is also predictable – we know the elephant will knock things down and lift things up etc, but it's not overdone and is amusing to a point. It may not be rocket science but it will please kids for sure. For adults the physical nature of this comedy is tempered by a world weary Murray who really does make the film worth watching. He is a funny guy and although he is on auto-pilot here, he is still very good.

The film rests solely on his shoulders and he just about carries it off. The rest of the cast may well be made of faces but they are all in minor roles. People like Piven, Garofalo, Fiorentino, Jerry Alder, Presnell etc are all round the edges making it look tidy but really do little. McConaughey has a bigger, minor role but he isn't very good. His character is funny but he doesn't quite carry it off and I wonder if he is embarrassed by it now.

Overall this sort of thing usually stinks the place up, and this one doesn't. It's nothing special but is amusing enough to pass the time. This is mainly due to Murray doing his usual world-weary cynical act – we've seen it before but that doesn't mean it's not still funny.