Tim Burton's tall tale, in which a peevish son tries to let the air out of the whoppers his dying father has told him — and everyone else — since childhood, is a deft blend of fantastic noodling and astute psychological drama. Journalist William Bloom (Billy Crudup) has been estranged from his voluble father, Edward (Albert Finney), since Edward monopolized William's wedding with the umpteenth telling of a fabulous yarn about catching the biggest, wiliest catfish that ever trolled the bottom of a muddy river. When William's long-suffering mother, Sandra (Jessica Lange), calls with the news that Edward is dying, William makes the pilgrimage home — hugely pregnant wife...
Released:
2003
Rated:
PG-13
Length:
110 mins