BIG MIRACLE BRINGS RUSSIA TO THE AID OF AMERICA
Journalist Adam Carlson (played by John Krasinski) happens to be in Barrow, Alaska, when he learns that three whales are trapped in ice, with only a small opening for air, five miles from the open sea. When he tapes the story in early 1988, world attention focuses on their plight, and Greenpeace activist Rachel Kramer (played by Drew Barrymore) is soon on the scene, pressuring J.W. McGraw (played by Ted Danson) to mobilize resources to free the whales in order to regain PR soon after winning the contract to drill in Northern Alaska despite Greenpeace protests. Although most Inuits want to kill the whales for food, their leader soon realizes that his people will greatly benefit from the PR of saving them. Even President Reagan gets involved, asking Mikhail Gorbachev to send a Russian icebreaker. Based on the book Freeing the Whales by Thomas Rose, Director Ken Kwapis effectively raises consciousness about environmental issues and the rights of indigenous people. MH