…To Help Cute Whales
In case this weekend’s “Dolphin Tale” doesn’t provide your fill of movies about plucky humans helping out cute creatures in the water, not to worry, because Drew Barrymore and John Krasinski are gonna do their best to turn you into a big pile of mush with the treacly “Big Miracle.”
Originally titled “Everybody Loves Whales” (though those words still serve as the film‘s website address) the movie is directed by “He’s Just Not That Into You” helmer Ken Kwapis (also a regular behind the camera of “The Office“), and the story follows a joint US/Soviet effort during the Cold War to save a trio of trapped whales. Awww. In order for this to happen, a number of obstacles will need to be overcome, including ice, ’80s fashion and…uh, those damn Reds. A weird supporting cast has been assembled, including Kristen Bell, Dermot Mulroney, Tim Blake Nelson, Ted Danson (seriously Tim and Ted, you guys don’t need to be doing this), Stephen Root and the criminally underutilized Vinessa Shaw. What this movie doesn’t have is a picture of Morgan Freeman doing this.
“Big Miracle” will melt your heart or something on February 3, 2012. Check out the official synopsis and trailer below (or in HD at Apple).
Inspired by the true story that captured the hearts of people across the world, the rescue adventure Big Miracle tells the amazing tale of a small town news reporter (John Krasinski) and a Greenpeace volunteer (Drew Barrymore) who are joined by rival world superpowers to save a family of majestic gray whales trapped by rapidly forming ice in the Arctic Circle. Local newsman Adam Carlson (Krasinski) can’t wait to escape the northern tip of Alaska for a bigger market. But just when the story of his career breaks, the world comes chasing it, too. With an oil tycoon, heads of state and hungry journalists descending upon the frigid outpost, the one who worries Adam the most is Rachel Kramer (Barrymore). Not only is she an outspoken environmentalist, she’s also his ex-girlfriend. With time running out, Rachel and Adam must rally an unlikely coalition of Inuit natives, oil companies and Russian and American military to set aside their differences and free the whales. As the world’s attention turns to the top of the globe, saving these endangered animals becomes a shared cause for nations entrenched against one another and leads to a momentary thaw in the Cold War.
