Rare Birds (2001)

Unforgettable

One of my favorite movies of all time. Viewed it accidentally a few years ago on HBO and HAD to record it. I just sit back and relax and ENJOY it, and refuse to analyze it. Andy Jones is hilarious, Hurt is Hurt and Molly Parker is enchanting. The soundtrack is one of the best I've ever heard....in short...I can't get enough of this movie! But then, I also like Coen Bros. movies, so some would say I'm not playing with a full deck. But...what do they know! December 1, 2007

DVDs

One of my new favorite movies. Quirky story, excellent cast and very touching underlying love story. Excellent for a date at home! October 18, 2007

Charming at first, but...

Note: I recently purchased a DVD copy of this movie from Amazon and the DVD has several places where the film just stops or gets "hung up." It's not my DVD player as other DVDs are played with no problem. And having previously purchased a defective DVD from Amazon, there is no refund policy. Caveat Emptor.

As for the film itself, I enjoyed it when first seen on TV a few years ago - found it quaint and charming. But after re-watching it a few more times, well, I find it less charming. Actually, William Hurt's potrayal starts to wear thin. The music/score and scenery are great, but the characters just don't generate any warmth to me. Especially the scene of William Hurt - partially naked scratching his rear - puhlease. The point being?

October 10, 2006

Reminded me of a buffet, "Take all you want, but eat all you take"...

Before every episode of that sci-fi classic television series X-Files there would be a promotional teaser that would claim, "All of your questions will be answered..." While you would watch the show, hoping that Mulder and Scully would finally find the answers to life, ultimately by the end, there would be more questions with very very few answers. It was the X-Files and over time we found ourselves used to no questions answered, and continued randomness coupled with confusion. Rare Birds seemed to be directed by an obvious X-Files fan, because here you have a film that is being marketed as the next Saving Grace or Waking Ned Devine, but oddly ends up like neither of these films and more like an unanswered episode of that alien miniseries. There are so many unanswered questions with implausible moments in Rare Birds that instead of focusing on the possible great and unique characters, our minds get muddled in the tangent, random, and completely unfocused story. Rare Birds could have been a comfortable film, it could have been easy, simple, and relaxed, but too many unfamiliar coincidences caused this "independent" film to flap poorly in the wind. Rare Birds will transform any avid bird enthusiast into a full-fledged hunter, shooting any bird that step within their path!

What makes Rare Birds an interesting film (and keep in mind this is the only interesting part of the film) is that as you watch this film, you can pinpoint exactly where the muddling begins. There is an exact moment in this film where you can see that the director wanted to add so many different elements that they could not control them all. From the tangent cocaine story (causing unfocused elements in characters that are not developed), to the scientifically profound lights, to the recreational submarine, all the way to the supposed central focus of this film ... the rare bird. One would think that the rare bird story, hoping to build a sorrowed character's life to be better, would be the central moment, the breaking moment, but instead the rare bird story is just as unfocused as the rest of the film. Early in the film Hurt and Jones go into Jones' basement and all of these stories collide together. Sadly, when we leave the basement, nothing has been straightened out. This is when our story, Rare Birds, begins to burn and into a slowly crashing direction. It is obvious that Edward Riche's novel has quite a bit more about the characters and their inner-voice explaining better situations. Alas, this did not transform well into a film version. Director Gunnarsson has way too much on the plate, and as we see in other films in the same vein, there becomes a fuzzy central focus. The rare bird story should have been the focus, but instead we attempt to learn about cocaine (and Dave's apparent addiction), the "Winnebago" group, and some random science light issue that is never fully explained thoroughly. Rare Birds starts strong, but ultimately fails because of the classic "buffet-line" issue. Gunnarsson should have followed the rules, "Take all you want, but eat all you take"!

Occasionally with films that are as painful as Rare Birds, you sometimes get a great cast that overshadows the failing story. Hurt is awful. I have seen him in so many good films over the years, but this seemed to be too simple of a role for him. Was he doing it for just the cash or was he overplaying the simpleton character? I couldn't tell. Hurt seemed to play Dave with so much remorse, so much pain, that you never could understand what his true story was. His reaction to his wife was flimsy, the story between him and Molly Parker was subsequently as weak, and his reactions to Jones were uncharismatic. He felt bored in this film, and instead of being funny, he just felt sad. His character was nothing to write home about, and I blame Hurt because I know he could have pushed deeper and had fun with Dave overall creating an enjoyable hour and a half. This did not happen, and we were pained for that exact amount of time. The same can be said for Molly Parker who danced her way out of our hearts and Andy Jones who played his character to discretely. There was too much counterbalance between Hurt and Jones that they could not play off each other well. What could have been a decent buddy scenario like Waking Ned Devine turned out to be just two characters talking about incoherent nothing. The story matched the characters, overall souring this film.

Overall, Rare Birds was a horrible film. It had the potential to be just a simple, sweet story about friends helping each other, but instead too much was thrown into the mix to muddle the overall tone of the story. With the synopsis centering around some rare birds helping a friend gain new business, I went into the film expecting a buddy story centered with this rare bird story. Alas, it never really congealed that way. That is the biggest gripe of this film. I don't mind getting into a film and experiencing something different, but this was a completely tangent storyline. Nothing was ever developed, nothing was ever answered. I really didn't want an answer by the end of the film, but at the end I felt cheated and wronged. Even the supposed "love story" didn't seem real, but instead very forced. Pass on Rare Birds if you can. It has nothing to do with friendship and very little to do with birds.

Grade: * out of ***** August 6, 2006

NICE TRY

One of my favorite songs from the fifties, DON'T YOU KNOW, by the wonderful Della Reese is the highlight of this disappointing film. Like THE LITTLE ENGINE THAT COULD, RARE BIRDS could have been a refreshing film. It has a wonderful look, set in the rural area of Nova Scotia, and an appealing premise and cast. Unfortunately, it never really seems to go anywhere and it never really comes to an end. William Hurt plays a down on his luck restaurant owner who is separated from his wife, and who may have to sell his establishment since no one patronizes it. Andy Jones plays his imaginative friend, Alphonse, who has invented an RSV - RECREATIONAL SUBMARINE VEHICLE, and he is sure that the Winnebago people are spying on him and wanting to take his invention. He's also found an immense amount of cocaine, which he asks Hurt to try and price for him. Jones has also devised a non-electrical source of light which plays an important role in the movie's finale. Jones also offers Hurt a solution to his problem: call a radio talk show and tell them he's sighted an extinct bird that is hovering near the restaurant and all the birdwatchers in the world will show up and his business will boom, which does indeed occur, but not without the prerequisite difficulties.
The photogenic Molly Parker plays Jones's sister in law who helps out at the restaurant and falls for Hurt in the making.
While the film has some admirable qualities, it just doesn't come together enough for me to rate it any higher, but oh that song!!! June 24, 2006

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