Whale of a Tale: Heartwarming story retold in 'Big Miracle'
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John Krasinski and Drew Barrymore in "Big Miracle."
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Freeing Willy was a cakewalk compared to what would-be rescuers face in Alaska.
Three California gray whales, christened Fred, Wilma and Bamm-Bamm, are trapped off the coast of Barrow, Alaska, north of the Arctic Circle. They're essentially stranded in a pocket of water that hasn't crusted over with ice and serves as their breathing hole; miles of ice block their path to freedom and migration.
If something isn't done, the two adults and young male will die, a plight that captivates the world in fall 1988 when "Big Miracle" is set. It was inspired by the real story that competed with the presidential race for airtime on the nightly news.
In the PG-rated blend of fact and fiction, it's small-town TV reporter Adam Carlson (John Krasinski of "The Office") who spots the whales quite by accident.
- Starring: John Krasinski, Drew Barrymore.
- Rating: PG for language.
When the story goes national and then international, the media circus comes to town, Greenpeace activist and Adam's ex, Rachel Kramer (Drew Barrymore), shows up, and everyone from President Reagan to a no-nonsense National Guardsman (Dermot Mulroney) and an oil tycoon (Ted Danson) get involved. It might take giving the Cold War a cold shoulder if a Soviet icebreaker is the only way the whales can be freed.
Even if you don't remember much about the story reported by the likes of network anchormen Tom Brokaw, Dan Rather and Peter Jennings, it was front-page news.
As the Associated Press reported at the time: "Television brought the whales into U.S. homes. Nightly pictures of their battered and bleeding snouts protruding from a breathing hole cut like a harpoon into American hearts."
"Big Miracle" shows image-conscious businessmen can turn into do-gooders, Eskimos accustomed to hunting whales can find ways to keep them alive and entrepreneurship can thrive anywhere, even at the top of the world.
Kristen Bell portrays a go-getter reporter from Los Angeles who jumps at the chance to go to Alaska when her veteran, preening colleagues turn up their noses at the prospect. She presents a sharp contrast to Ms. Barrymore's Rachel, who doesn't care about makeup probably tested on animals or shaggy hair with blond roots long grown out and in need of a good cut.
First Published February 3, 2012 12:00 am
