Rare Birds (2001)

The TV guide said that this is a comedy !! OK, let's see what's so comedic about it.. William Hurt is a middle-aged loser, who sniffs cocaine whenever he's desperate, tired, or just awake ! HAHAAA, SO FUNNY ! William Hurt's friend finds a massive amount of cocaine, and plans for selling it, to kill hundreds of people ! HAHAAA, SO FUNNY INDEED ! William Hurt and his filthy friend plan a scheme to revive the first's dead restaurant, where an old lady dies out of it ! HAHAAA, THIS IS WONDERFUL ! William Hurt's filthy friend has a primitive submarine, which dives into water ! HAHAAA, I LAUGH LIKE A DRAIN ! William Hurt and his filthy friend are uncovered as rare birds' frauds, and drugs' possessors, yet the police want them for something else ! HAHAAA, I LAUGH MY HEAD OFF ! William Hurt rides his car and gets away the village he used to live in ! HAHAAA, I LAUGH LIKE CRAZY, BUT BECAUSE THIS IS THE MOVIE'S END !!!!In Dumb & Dumber (1994), a movie I'm not so fond of, there are 2 dumb persons, who do dumb things, to cause some laughs. This round, we have 2 dumb persons, who do dumb things, ONLY ! So weather this is the worst comedy ever, or not a comedy in the first place; rather a drama, about 2 stupid men, who are chasing their dreams stupidly. However, even this way the movie doesn't work. The events run boringly, just the scheme parts, the lead's silent attraction towards the redhead girl, and sniffing cocaine, then all of that again, and again, without any comedy, intelligence, or artistic subtleness. And out of the blue, there is a big climax, which doesn't develop anything or anyone !Let me furiously ask : how selling the restaurant would make way for selling the cocaine ? What was the filthy friend's never-unveiled plan exactly ?! And why it was never-unveiled ?! Why the cocaine's sub-plot basically ? While the lead character was gradually immersing in addiction, I thought this would be a tragedy about the end of a man. But eventually, that line seemed irrelevant, superfluous, and freely ugly ! Actually this movie merchandises cocaine like no other movie; as something makes you so happy, get over your fatigue, and overstep your problems finely, not the deadly poison which destroys your brain, sexual ability, money, and – yes – life ! If the lead doesn't love his wife, why doesn't he divorce her since the start ?! What could be the reason of the redhead girl to love a stupid cocaine sniffing machine like Hurt ?! How come she's dancing erotically to a serious operatic singing ??!! While the S.W.A.T guy has a gun, why he gets so afraid of Hurt ?! How come nobody got arrested in the end; despite knowing about the drugs, the fake birds, and kidnapping a policeman ?! And finally, what was the need for seeing Hurt's naked butt while his wife's phone call ? And what was the need of the scene where he's disgusted by his own excrements' smell, and does a lot to end it ? Was there dramatic befit or – oh god – comic relief in that ?!!!!!!!! (Talk about irrelevant, superfluous, and freely ugly, huh !).Simply, what's worse than a movie which you ask during it "what's enjoyable about it" ?, what's worse than a movie which you ask in its end "what did change in its lead" ?! And what's worse than a movie which you ask after it "what could it mean ?!". No need to say that Rare Birds has the 3 catastrophes together !So weather this is the worst comedy ever, or such a bland and meaningless drama (and according to the drug line, add "unscrupulous" as well !). Both ways, I'm so sad for William Hurt's talent and awful choices. I'm so sad that the character of his filthy friend didn't die at the end. And I'm so sad that I had to watch this stupidity till its end !

A truly awful movie. I've been waiting many months to see this movie as its so hard to get from the video rental places. Now I know why. William Hurt's performance was lifeless. His comment towards the end about getting someone to run the restaurant was laughable. The relationship with Alice was uninspiring, by the time she left I could really care less. It seemed as if there was a lot more scenes that were filmed but edited it out. It was hard to follow why things were happening (why did they decide to start burning the coke?). I've been in Newfoundland and loved it. I didn't see any of those fancy people eating that fancy food and paying high prices for it. A true disappointment.

A fine piece of work that deserves to be seen more widely. I agree with the previous comment only so far as the cocaine sub-plot is concerned. Nicely rounded cast (including Mary Walsh who is uncredited as the younger waitress's mother).Molly Parker was sensuality itself, while Andy Jones had the rough conviviality that his role needed. William Hurt sustained his part well, and I didn't really notice the slips in accent (though I recognize they were there).The cocaine sequences were pointless (and presumably gave the film its R rating), and the ending with the ridiculously hapless RCMP was a little disappointing. However, by that time the film had charmed me enough to make it not matter.

I can't help but like this one. Everything about it reminds me of "The Dish" another "foreign import" that takes you away to another time (aka attitude) and another people - real people."Phonce" is brilliantly played by Andy Jones. He's a friend's friend - an all out go to guy... and asking nothing in return. Him and "Dave" (John Hurt) are good friends. I got a sense of a real bond on the screen. It carried the film through slower moments.If you like "The Dish" you'll love this rare find of a movie. Afterall, you have to come across it on a cable station in order to find it. 9/10Zafoid