Big and Hairy

Even though they advertise this as being a family film, it is quite the opposite. It is full of kids disrespecting coaches, parents, and adults in general.

One of the "guiding" questions on the back of the film is "Why was it a good idea for the coach to give all of the kids equal playing time?" Really? Do we want to tell our kids that they should get equal playing time no matter their ability level? If yes, then we're telling our kids that earning a spot on a team is not necessary - it will just be given to you.

But a reoccurring theme in the movie seems to be the attitude that the student athletes give to adults/parents.

So, if you want to show your kid what not to do in today's society - this is a must see.

Picasso, a middle school child of two artists, has just moved to an island in the northwest with his folks. He's unhappy that he can not seem to make friends, even when he joins the basketball team. His parents are sympathetic but try to reassure him that he will learn to fit in. Dad (Richard Thomas) is an artist working for the island's big company, a lawn ornament manufacturing plant. The plant's owner, a big basketball nut, comes to all of the middle school games. If the team loses, he goes ballistic. Picasso misses some free throws in an early season game that sends the team to the showers and diminishes his chances of making friends even more. However, Picasso meets "Ed", a Sasquatch youngster in the woods and arranges for him to play basketball with the team. With a great height and natural skill, Ed wins many games for the team. But, does Ed miss his folks and natural habitat? And, is it ethical for a different species to play with middle school boys? This is a fun, fantasy movie for children. Ed is a delight and charms in a big way. Thomas is just flat-out hilarious as the wild-haired, unconventional dad. All of the supporting cast, including Donnelly Rhodes as the plant owner, are inspired. Let's make it dittos for the storyline and sets. Do you wish to show your kids a good, clean time on a night with the family? Big and Hairy is a bigtime bonanza.

I really did hate this movie. There just wasn't anything good about it. They've done the non-human playing basketball way too many times (eg. Teen Wolf, Air Bud). As much as I like sasquatch/bigfoots, I just can't like this movie. But I'm sure younger audiences would enjoy it.

Don't ask me. It's a movie about Big Foot joining a kid's middle school basketball team, if that doesn't strike your interest you may not have a soul. But, after seeing my 10 stars you've got to be wondering, "is it actually good?"

Yes. Absolutely. A resounding HECK YEAH!

If you are a connoisseur of strange or unknown movies, you may be aware that bad comedies can be some of the hardest things to sit through. This is usually because when a comedy fails it fails in making its audience laugh, which for trash movies such as this one, is the entire point.

But, here's the thing. It's actually hilarious. And the characters are weirdly likable. Even the Wookie knockoff, heck, especially the Wookie knockoff. Every time the thing squawks in that crappy Chewbacca suit I can't help but bust a gut.

The premise is so beyond idiotic. It's literally Air Bud but with the missing link. And we're supposed to grow emotionally attached to the freaky ape thing as the film progresses. It's so simple and stupid I just can't help becoming enamored with it as it unfolds. I genuinely cheered for them at the end. It's not even irony, or post-irony, or any of that crap, I just want Picasso to win the big game.

All in all, a truly marvelous experience that deserves many more fans than it has. Highly recommended.

Sasquatch playing basketball - what more do you need? I literally fell on the floor laughing at several points. What is scary is that by the end of the movie it was perfectly acceptable that there is a seven foot sasquatch dancing with a 27 year-old (supposedly Middle School) at the Valentines dance. (And some claim that TV and movies aren't hardening our minds to such drival.) It is well worth a $1 rental (or purchase as the case may be). By the way the brief Star Wars clip was blasphemy against all things good about a movie.