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Matthew Perry, Ginnifer Goodwin, Ben Foster, Hilary Swank, Lauren Graham ... see more see more... , Zöe Kravitz , Gary Wilmes

Director Craig Lucas teams with screenwriter Elyse Friedman for this sociologically-slanted comedy drama concerning three eccentric siblings who were forced to grow up in an environment with no actual... read more read more... grown ups. In a typical family, the pattern usually goes something like this: Parents have children, children grow up, children move out, and family comes together for visits on holidays and special occasions. Unfortunately for Morrie Tanager, any concept of normalcy was thrown out the window when his parents died, and he was left to raise his two siblings Ida and Jay in the family home. These days Morrie shares the home with his wife Betty, Ida is a promiscuous artist who's always traveling despite the fact that she's perpetually broke, and Jay is a reclusive weirdo who frequently conducts antisocial experiments. All that the perpetually constipated Morrie wants out of life is to please his wife Betty. While it's been quite a while since siblings Morrie, Ida, and Jay have all been together under one roof, those familiar childhood dynamics quickly return when Ida comes knocking at the exact moment Jay goes supernova. As neurosis and instability suddenly cascades through the home like a dysfunctional Niagara Falls, Morrie and Betty suddenly find their delicate attempts to secure Morrie's tenure washed down the river right towards the big drop. ~ Jason Buchanan, Rovi

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45% liked it

2,330 ratings

R, 1 hr. 25 min.

Directed by: Craig Lucas

Release Date: January 24, 2008

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DVD Release Date: October 21, 2008

Stats: 268 reviews

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Flixster Reviews (268)

  • LWOODS04
    September 22, 2011
    LWOODS04
    Cast: Matthew Perry, Ben Foster, Ginnifer Goodwin, Lauren Graham, Zoë Kravitz, Hilary Swank, Gary Wilmes, Daniel Eric Gold, Takako Haywood, Jennifer Gargano

    Director: Craig Lucas

    Summary: With his daffy neighbor (Hilary Swank) serving as his sole diversion from the daily g... read morerind, Morrie (Matthew Perry) feels stifled by his suburban existence. But circumstances change when he's forced to reconcile with his younger brother and sister (Ben Foster and Ginnifer Goodwin). They resented him as a surrogate father when they were growing up, but now their freewheeling ways could prove to be Morrie's salvation.

    My Thoughts: "I really liked this movie. Thought it was funny, dark, and really interesting. Love indie movies. I think they are the best kind of movies. Love Ben Foster in this. Matthew Perry was great, and it was good to see him in more of a drama type film then comedies.. Loved Ginnifer Goodwins character. She was a free spirit. Hilary Swank was quite boring though.
    It's basically about three siblings still grieving over their parents death and trying to accept each other and the way they live their lives.. I just think that some people can relate. I think its a movie worth seeing."
  • jjnxn
    February 10, 2011
    jjnxn
    Poky and not terribly entertaining. Ben Foster is good given the confines of his role but this purported comedy is a downer.
  • romy861
    November 27, 2010
    romy861
    Liked this a lot. Very understated and moves slowly, but effective portrayal of a dysfunctional family with an outstanding cast. Will not be to all tastes, but I enjoyed it.
  • movieguru12
    April 23, 2009
    movieguru12
    Don't know what I was thinking when I rented this movie. I thought that because Matthew Perry was in it that it would be a good movie. The lesson learned is that just because a movie has an actor you like, doesn't mean it's going to be a good movie. This movie proved that.
  • MagnusMagica
    July 25, 2009
    MagnusMagica
    "But sometimes, sometimes kindness is wiser than truth."
    A great, weird, low-key drama about three siblings trying to come to terms and accept one another for who they really are.
    Great cast with among others Matthew Perry, Ben Foster, Lauren Graham and the amazing Ginnifer Goodwin.
  • shawndeeds
    February 5, 2011
    shawndeeds
    I think everybody has some issues with their family members. Maybe some of the are quirky, maybe some of them are deranged, and maybe some of them are just plain crazy! In Birds Of America, the great Matthew Perry stars as Morrie Tanager, a middle-aged husband and school teacher ... read moreabout to get tenure. He has a plethora of problems, including bowel issues, mostly the result of too much stress. His lovely wife Betty is played by the equally lovely Lauren Graham and together they live in Morrie's parents house. They also happen to live next door to Morrie's co-worker Paul and his wife Laura and their young child. Paul is the one person standing in the way of Morrie getting his tenure. So they are forced to kind of suck up to Paul and his wife until his tenure gets instated. It's working and all seems well in their lovely world until Jay, Morrie's brother is forced to move in with them after an injury. Not more than a couple of days later, Morrie's sister Ida also moves in! We find out that when Morrie was younger, his parents both passed away early and Morrie was forced to take care of his younger siblings, and now he is having to do the same exact thing, but only as adults. Which doesn't sit well with Betty and makes for one interestingly real, yet very funny movie. The cast was absolutely amazing! Matthew is always great, I've yet to see him in anything I didn't enjoy, from TV shows to movies. Lauren was great too and it seems she's been popping up more and more, which is a very good thing! The great Ben Foster plays Jay, a mentally unbalanced young man, just looking for the reasons of life. I've been a fan of his since I first saw a movie called Get Over It. Ida was played wonderfully by the very talented and sexy Ginnifer Goodwin (He's Just Not That Into You.) I see very good things for her in her future. Rounding out the cast is Gary Wilmes as Paul, Hilary Swank as his wife Laura and the up-and-coming Zoe Kravits as Jay's estranged wife. They often say "the family that preys together, stays together" or "the family that saves together, stays together", but it is more realistic in this day and age that "the family that can and is able to go crazy with each other, the closer they often end up." And just like the Tanager Family, that might just be the better way to go.
  • DarthBetty
    March 24, 2009
    DarthBetty
    Eh. it was okay. I didn't care too much for the story, or for their family issues. It all seemed like movies I'd seen before.

    Ben Foster was stil an amazing actor though.:)
  • gump486700
    February 28, 2009
    gump486700
    I really liked it! I was a good story, that really hit home. It really portrayed real life. Most people were disappointed, because they saw Matthew Perry in it; and thought it would be hilarious. It was nice seeing hinm in this light!
  • SJSharkGrrl09
    February 27, 2009
    SJSharkGrrl09
    Another stellar performance from Ben Foster. I didn't really enjoy this movie, but I thought it was well acted.
  • joshuarainwater
    February 6, 2009
    joshuarainwater
    Matthew Perry is awesome but this is nothing more marginal "comedy" with plenty of character development but not a whole lot of plot. This story of siblings and the significant other is, in the end, not really worth watching. I'm not going to again anyways.

View All Birds of America Reviews

Critic Reviews

James Greenberg
February 5, 2008
James Greenberg, Hollywood Reporter

Not very convincing or funny.

Dennis Harvey
February 1, 2008
Dennis Harvey, Variety

Ends up feeling more like the season finale of a fairly interesting, somewhat derivative HBO series than stand-alone screen fare. Full Review

Brian Orndorf
July 24, 2010
Brian Orndorf, DVDTalk.com

A stunningly short (79 minutes) experience, but nevertheless a crushing one, exploring hackneyed suburban woe elements with a decidedly detached tone that alleviates any need to pay close attention. Full Review

Kim Voynar
January 31, 2008
Kim Voynar, Cinematical

It's not quite funny enough to appeal as a rom-com, nor quite darkly comedic enough to satisfy ... Full Review

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