Birds of America (2008)

A regular guy struggles with a repressive home and professional life, as well as making amends for the trouble his free-spirited brother and sister cause about town.

Director:

Craig Lucas

Writer:

Elyse Friedman

Stars:

Matthew Perry, Ben Foster, Ginnifer Goodwin

Cast

Cast overview, first billed only:
Matthew Perry	...	Morrie
Ben Foster	...	Jay
Ginnifer Goodwin	...	Ida
Lauren Graham	...	Betty Tanager
Zoë Kravitz	...	Gillian
Hilary Swank	...	Laura
Gary Wilmes	...	Paul
Daniel Eric Gold	...	Gary
Stacie Theon	...	Ellen Thomas
Lindsay Allen	...	Roller-Blading Girl
Tom Pelphrey	...	Hitchhiker
Will Toale	...	Young Male Cop
Vivien Kells	...	Sleeping Girl (as Vivien Kells O'Brien)
Keith McDermott	...	Man in Street
Marisa Zalabak	...	Woman in Street

Storyline

When Morrie was a teenager, his parents died, leaving him a house, an irritable bowel, and siblings Jay and Ida to raise. Jump ahead 20 years: Jay is homeless, fits poorly into society, and was recently injured; Ida is jobless and sleeps with strangers; Morrie is married to the long-suffering Betty who is waiting for Morrie to get tenure before having children. They constantly have to kiss up to their holier-than-thou neighbors, one of whom is Morrie's department head. Morrie brings Jay home to recover, Ida decides to visit, the siblings make the neighbors ill at ease, a strange woman visits, and the cops want to talk to Jay. What about Morrie's irritated bowels?

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Plot Keywords:

hitchhiker | police | sense of touch | undressing | bird in title | 

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Taglines:

Some families defy classification

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Genres:

Comedy | Drama

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Motion Picture Rating (MPAA)

Rated R for language, some sexuality and brief drug use

Details

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Release Date:

26 February 2010 (Mexico)

Also Known As:

The Laws of Motion

Filming Locations:

Darien, Connecticut, USA

Company Credits

Production Co:

Plum Pictures, iDeal Partners Film Fund, Hanson Allen Films

Technical Specs

Runtime:

85 min 89 min

Sound Mix:

Dolby Digital

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

2.35 : 1

Did You Know?

Quotes

Ida: If you are gonna live totally outside the lines, all of the people moving on the inside of them are gonna flatten you.

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Connections

References Columbo (1971)

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Soundtracks

"Sad Song"
Written and Performed by Fredo Viola

User Reviews

Not a waste of time

Not a great movie, and certainly not as funny as the people who made it seem to think it is, but it still creeps up on you, and you find yourself rooting for these characters, even while you're getting slightly annoyed by them. Pulling together a really terrific cast is a triumph in itself, and if the end result isn't a home run, it's still a decent double, maybe even a triple. I grabbed this off the Hollywood Video shelf based totally on the cast, especially Ben Foster (LOVED him in Barry Levinson's Liberty Heights, and of course Six Feet Under). While I thought it could have been more, especially with Craig Lucas at the helm (and I was surprised that there was no gay characters at all), it wasn't a terrible way to spend a dreary Monday night when there was nothing to watch on TV.