Rare Birds

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Rare Birds

R

2002

1h 44m

Comedy

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Tomatometer

Popcornmeter

54%

Tomatometer

13 Reviews

69%

Popcornmeter

1,000+ Ratings

Dave is ready to call it quits on his marriage and his restaurant. His wife has left him and the restaurant, The Auk, has never really taken off. Desperate, Dave tries to consume the rare delights of his restaurant before they are repossessed. All seems lost until Dave's neighbor, Phonse, proposes a mad scheme to save The Auk. They will announce the presence, in the vicinity of the restaurant, of an extremely rare duck, attracting bird watchers the world over.

Roger Ebert

Chicago Sun-Times

10/03/2003

3/4

Whimsical and touching.

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Allison Benedikt

Chicago Tribune

10/02/2003

1.5/4

Rendered bland and frustrating by its endless attempts to make the odd odder.

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Ty Burr

Boston Globe

10/04/2002

2/4

The movie keeps coming back to the achingly unfunny Phonce and his several silly subplots.

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Dennis Schwartz

Dennis Schwartz Movie Reviews

03/09/2019

Comes up fowl.

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Emanuel Levy

EmanuelLevy.Com

07/22/2005

2/5

Chris Hewitt

St. Paul Pioneer Press

05/23/2003

3/4

Even if you don't know a wren from a grackle, there are pleasures here.

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02/27/2020

I'm not a fan of the rom-com genre, but the wry humor that pervades this picture just tickles my fancy. Oh, and Molly Parker.

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Michael B

@BlackCloud13 06/05/2013

Cute and charming film with quirky characters and small-town magic. As usual, the introduction of drugs to the story is unnecessary and hurts the movie.

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07/05/2012

Cute little film set in a sleepy Newfoundland town that is set upon by outsiders all in searchof an elusive bird. Touching with good character interaction.

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09/27/2011

I was very happily surprised. I adored it. Charming.

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04/19/2011

Pointy birds, oh pointy pointy

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03/19/2010

Shot in beautiful Newfoundland by Icelandic director Sturla Gunnarsson. Based on the novel by Canadian Edward Riche, who also wrote the screenplay. Stars Molly Parker, a wonderful Canadian actress.

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Sturla Gunnarsson

Director

William Hurt

Dave Purcell

Andy Jones

Phonse

Molly Parker

Alice

Vicky Hynes

Deb

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Synopsis

Dave is ready to call it quits on his marriage and his restaurant. His wife has left him and the restaurant, The Auk, has never really taken off. Desperate, Dave tries to consume the rare delights of his restaurant before they are repossessed. All seems lost until Dave's neighbor, Phonse, proposes a mad scheme to save The Auk. They will announce the presence, in the vicinity of the restaurant, of an extremely rare duck, attracting bird watchers the world over.

Director: Sturla Gunnarsson
Screenwriter: Edward Riche
Distributor: Studio Home Entertainment, Shadow Distribution, Lionsgate Films, Nexo, Kinowelt Home Entertainment [de]
Production Co: Pope Productions, Rare Productions Ltd. [ca], Big Pictures Entertainment
Rating: R (Language|Drug Use)
Genre: Comedy
Original Language: English
Release Date (Theaters): Mar 1, 2002, Wide
Release Date (Streaming): Nov 23, 2016
Box Office (Gross USA): $17.8K
Runtime: 1h 44m
Sound Mix: Dolby Stereo, Dolby Digital, Dolby A, Dolby SR
Aspect Ratio: Flat (1.85:1)