"Big Miracle": in the 1980s, the polar regions could still get too cold

Delta actually shows movies on flights three-fourths across the country, as with “Big Miracle” yesterday on a trek from Salt Lake to Baltimore.

A local news reporter Adam Carlson (John Kraninski) discovers three whales trapped by ice in the Prudhoe Bay area.  He recruits an ex-girl friend and Greenpeace volunteer Rachel Kramer (Drew Barrymore) to stir up the heroic effort to rescue the cetaceans. Adam hopes to have a nationwide news story and has his own ulterior motives besides environmental altruism.  (Rachel was Cindy Lowry in the “true story”.)

In time, a whole town (Barrow) is mobilized, as kids stop school to join an effort “bigger than themselves”.

The environmental issue seems the opposite of what we often hear about today, as with polar bears, who are endangered by melting ice, not refreezing.

There is a lot of 1980s feel-good stuff, with Ronald Reagan appearing to praise the efforts.

The official site is here (Universal).  The film is based on the book “Freeing the Whales” by Thomas Rose and is directed by Ken Kwapis.

Drew Barrymore’s role reminds me of the 2004 film “My Date with Drew”, made for $1000, for filmmaker Brian Herzlinger risks his bod a bit and wonders if he needs to look buff before meeting here.  The official site is still there, from Imagination and Rusty Bear films.

Pictures, actually near Tioga Pass, CA, recent trip