Big Fish (2003)

When is a lie not a lie? If an utter tall tale spins a reality of its own and creates a sparkling, charming, world where high-flying fantasy invades and brightens the mundane quotidian, such as in master of whimsy Tim Burton's elaborate fabrication Big Fish (2003). Will Bloom (Billy Crudup) is sick of his father's (Albert Finney) myths, exaggerations and fanciful interpretations of his life, and feels that he never really knew the man because the truth is always obscured by these wild tales. With his dad on his deathbed, Will listens to the story of his dad's life one more time, and we watch the wild happenings with Ewan McGregor playing the father in his youth. From his time with a melancholy giant (Matthew McGrory) to spending time in an enchanted town of eternal twilight, to meeting a witch (Helena Bonham Carter) who shows him how he will die, and even encountering a werewolf (Danny DeVito) while working at the circus, the father's stories defy all credibility, but the movie's warm, moving perceptions of the clashes and bonds that divide and unite all good fathers and sons pierce straight to the soul of what is rightly real in this life. You'll laugh, you'll cry, and you'll never fact check your dad's dramatized life stories again. The only bit of fantastical fanny we get in the film comes in the form of Hollywood stunt double Bevin Kaye playing a mermaid who our hero runs into late at night in front of a lake. But this mermaid has two legs and a great ass! That's a fish bod that'll have you grabbing your rod! Our big wish was seeing more nude ladies like her in Big Fish!