 |
|
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
| |
|
 |
 |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Birds of America By Heather Watt  |
| |
 Birds of America is a unique film about family dynamics and loving who you are. Starring Matthew Perry as Morrie and Lauren Graham as his wife, the couple tries to create the image of a perfect home life because their neighbor is on the board to approve Morrie's tenure as a professor.
Morrie raised his two younger siblings from the time he was 18, when his father jumped out of the upstairs window after his mother died. All they have is each other and their house.
The film opens with Morrie's brother, Jay (Ben Foster), walking down the street in disarray with a bandaged head and bloody clothes. He lies down in the middle of the road and gazes up at the sky, and consequently gets hit by a car. Morrie is called to the hospital and brings Jay home to recover. Shortly following Jay's arrival, his unknown wife shows up, bearing the news that the police are after Jay.
Morrie's sister Ida (Ginnifer Goodwin) is a free spirit; a photographer who uses men and kicks them out the door. She picks up a hitchhiker while driving to visit Morrie. After she gets what she wants from him, she kicks him out of the car on the side of the road. Jay invites Ida to come stay with Morrie too, though she has not been back to the neighborhood since she broke her ex-lover's heart. Meanwhile, Morrie's wife Betty is jealous of their perfect neighbor (Hilary Swank) and her perfect baby and wants to start a family for herself.
The siblings bond one night after Betty has left Morrie (because her house has been taken over) by sharing a joint. One gets the idea that this a bit of a ritual for the dysfunctional family. Morrie has been uptight up until this point and once he accepts his strange siblings again something in him lets loose and doesn't care about tenure anymore and goes a little crazy himself.
The film has a few laugh-out-loud moments, but overall it is just bizarre. The title, Birds of America, is based upon the prized first of edition of the John James Audubon book that Morrie's father left. But it does not really connect to the theme of the movie. It premiered at the Sundance Film Festival, so this perhaps explains its off-beat nature. Definitely not a must-see, but Birds of America is entertaining and light-hearted. You will grow to love the characters and the unique relationships they share. |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|