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We had the trailer for My Bigfoot Life last week, and it looked very interesting. It wasn’t so much about Bigfoot, but about a young lad with autism, looking for the big hairy sasquatch.
This review is going to have two versions, one for what is a charming little movie, and the other from cynical me.
The Story
The official blurb for My Bigfoot Life is really long, but in a nutshell, a young man from the South West of the UK tries to find the legendary mythical creature.
We meet young Daniel, he’s 14 years old, and lives in the UK, near me as it happens. Being autistic, he has issues to deal with, like sensory overload and other things that make life tougher for him.
One thing about autistic people, though, is that they like to get their teeth into things. Daniel starts to learn about cryptozoology, the study of the weird and wonderful world of creatures unknown.
It’s not long before Daniel and Gramps are in the local woods looking for any kind of Bigfoot in the UK. He wants to check Friday night outside of any nightclub at 2 am. There are some pretty scary sights there.
They don’t find a sasquatch, but they do find remains of ‘something’, which piques their curiosity.
Daniel starts a blog about his hunting for strange creatures, and makes friends in the wider community, such as the people who run Expedition Bigfoot and Finding Bigfoot.
We Go To America
It’s not long before Daniel is invited to the Mecca of bigfoot spotting, the Pacific Northwest. The only problem is, Daniel doesn’t like flying, so getting on a plane is an issue, a big one.
In fact, the first time he tries to fly, they have to ground the plane so Daniel can get off the flight. However, he tries again and he makes it to America.
There, he’s asked to be a guest speaker at a Bigfoot convention. Again, facing his fears, he talks about his obsession with looking for Bigfoot and how he found remains of ‘something’ back home.
This is what originally got him into cryptozoology, and ultimately, the hunt for Bigfoot.
The Ending – The Optimist
Weirdly, the trailer gives the ending away, which is a shame. However, this is about the journey, not the destination. With the ending, I have to give two ratings for it. Firstly, Boba the Optimist.
Daniel gets invited by some of the biggest names in cryptozoology, all of them headed to the woods, to hunt for the elusive Bigfoot. Even though Daniel has a fear of the dark, he braves it to fulfil his quest.
In the woods, they do everything they can, and then, they all see something! In all the confusion, we, the audience, miss it, but the experts do see it. There are reflective eyes that seem to be very tall, an arm, and the side of a face.
The emotion takes over most of them as they have done what they thought they could never achieve; they have seen Bigfoot. For Daniel, it’s the thing he’s wanted, and the thing he faced all his fears to face.
The movie is a feel-good movie, which had to have the conclusion it was going for. The direction is not the best, but it’s good enough to get you through this heartwarming story.
The Ending – The Pessimist
Before we go on, if you want the feel-good movie, then stop reading now. From here on in, you’re reading the review of the cynical version of Boba Phil.
The trailer gives away the ending, so I was expecting it, but man, was everything wonderfully convenient. They have the biggest bigfoot hunters in the world, all in the same place, at the same time, with Daniel.
Some of the people have been hunting Bigfoot since 2011, but guess when they finally the evidence? The day Daniel turns up.
Now, I say they ‘saw’ bigfoot, that’s a strong word. Firstly, only one of the guys sees it; Daniel sees eyes reflected, but only one of them sees the arm and half a face. Which could have been a bear, but we’re not sure.
The stupid thing is, the cameras are always looking at Daniel and the rest of the hunters. Everyone has a GoPro on their heads, and a couple of them have thermal imaging cameras. Do we see any of that footage? No.
Fine, this is making a documentary about Daniel, but you would think, at some point in time, the camera would want to, you know, get footage of Bigfoot! But no, with all the cameras, all the footage, there isn’t a single frame of anything.
Overall
I want to believe that someone saw something, but I can’t. Everything about the end is far too convenient and ‘played out’, to give the ending a happy ending.
They could have left it open so that no one was sure what they saw. That way, you could leave the movie thinking it was all true, and you can make your own mind up about whether it was real or not.
My Bigfoot Life is directed by Daniel and Monika Gregelova. Both of them have done things like podcasts and directed a couple of things. Now, the overall direction is very good, but at the same time, it’s just not professional. Yes, I know Daniel is about 15 and has autism, but I’m reviewing this as honestly as possible.
There’s a moment where Daniel and Gramps meet someone, which is a big moment for them. I watched this with Mrs Boba Phil, and neither of us had any idea who this ‘someone’ was.
A good director would have set it up more and had us prepared for the ‘big moment’, but here, they didn’t. It was little things like that, and then the ending, which was all too ‘scripted’, took the edge off for me. It’s still a great little documentary, but go in with a grain of pessimism.
My Bigfoot Life is in UK cinemas from today, and will be on digital soon after.
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