something to it in addition to the surface subject matter . What I am trying to say is , just because this is a film about birding does n't mean it 's a film about birding . Stu Preissler -LRB- Steve Martin -RRB- , Brad Harris -LRB- Jack Black -RRB- and Kenny Bostick -LRB- Owen Wilson -RRB- are three birders who may -LRB- or may not -RRB- be attempting a Big Year . The thing is , it 's such a competitive field that those attempting such a feat tend to keep the information to themselves , so as to not inspire the competition . Paying possum is a big part of a Big Year . The head of a corporation , Stu is nearing retirement age . He wants to quit the rat race , do something for himself -LRB- A Big Year , natch -RRB- and settle down in Colorado with his wife , Edith -LRB- JoBeth Williams -RRB- . Of course his corporate underlings , smarmily played by Kevin Pollak and Joel McHale , continuously try to pull him off the road and into the board room . Brad , in his mid-30s and divorced , is
-LRB- CNN -RRB- -- Birders define `` a big year '' as an informal competition to see who can spot the most species of birds in a certain area in a calendar year . Let me start off with a disclaimer : I am a bit of a bird nerd . Not a serious birder by any stretch -LRB- I have never gone on vacation specifically for the birds , for example ... well , not a long one , anyway -RRB- , but my iPhoto has been known to contain more than a few shots of birds , and my iPhone does have iBird Explorer Plus . Oh , and as a child , my dad and I would spend the occasional summer afternoon in the country listening to records of bird calls . However , just because I like birds does n't mean I am predisposed to liking a movie with a lot of birds in it . I am a huge baseball fan too , but am perfectly able to recognize a bad baseball movie when I see one . `` Major League 2 , '' anyone ? In addition , a good film needs to have