Follow Us on Twitter
Android App
iPhone App
iPad App
Sign In
Sign Out
New User Sign Up
Profile Management
Home
What's on TV
TV Listings
New Tonight
Today's Live Sports
Sports Listings
Fall TV Schedule 2012
Finale TV Schedule
Movies on Demand
Soaps
Watchlist
Your Watchlist
Celebrity Watchlists
Friends' Facebook Favorites
Latest Tweets
What is a Watchlist?
News
Today's News
Fall Preview 2012
Fall TV Scorecard
Finale Preview
TV Guide Video Exclusives
TV Show Recaps
Jump The Shark
Sports
Today's Live Sports
Sports Listings
NCAA Basketball
MLB
NBA
NHL
Full Episodes
Your Watchlist
Online Video Guide
Photos
New Fall TV Shows 2012
Finale Preview
Red Carpet
Movies
Movies on TV
Movies On Demand
Trailers
TV Guide Network
TV Guide Network
TV Guide Network Channel Locator
TV Guide Network On Demand
Top Infomercial Products
TV Guide Magazine
Matt Roush
Keck's Exclusives
The Biz
Cheers & Jeers
Photos
Videos
Subscribe
Media Kit
What's Hot
Day-by-Day Fall Schedule
Idol
Winner Speaks!
Jim Parsons Comes Out
Game of Thrones
Star's Sex Stare
Rare Birds
2002, Movie, R, 101 mins
Main
Review
Cast & Details
News
Photos
TV Listings
Rare Birds: Review
Whimsy is hard to pull off in cynical times, and while this film's source novel may have been laden with eccentric charm, it doesn't register onscreen. Restaurateur David Purcell (William Hurt) can't make a go of his marriage or his failing Canadian-coast eatery, the Auk. His number one customer, Phonce (Andy Jones), promises to come up with a way to bail him out. David is skeptical: the paranoid Phonce is working secretly on a recreational mini-submarine he hopes to market and actually has attracted the government's attention, but only because he's illuminating his workshop with WWII-era self-generating lighting boards. They don't give a fig for his beloved one-man-sub. In exchange for David's cooperation in testing the submarine, Phonce concocts a fictitious sighting of a rare bird, Tasker Sulfurus; rumors about the near-extinct bird help drum up business for David's eatery. Local radio talk shows spread the word, drawing the avian set to the Auk, and when interest begins to wane Phonce launches a decoy duck in the water. Complications arise when the Royal Canadian Mounted Police surround Phonce's property; their interest in those lighting boards could expose the lie about the uncommon bird. Phonce and David must figure out how to extricate themselves from the bird scam before the Auk Restaurant becomes extinct? People love movies about second chances, but this caper flick is up to its neck in rare bird droppings. Happenstance proliferates, and the grating characters are not as cute as screenwriter Edward Riche and director Sturla Gunnarson would like us to believe.
leave a comment
--
Robert Pardi
Are You Watching?
Rare Birds
Rare Birds~Rare Birds~http://movies.tvguide.com/rare-birds/review/135999~~~/images/badges/tvguide_badge.gif
Loading ...
Advertisement
Our Partners
'Cosmopolis' Premiere: Robert Pattinson, Kristen Stewart On The Red Carpert
PublishDate = 5/25/2012 1:35:24 PM
Wes Anderson Movie Art: 'Rushmore,' 'Moonrise Kingdom,' 'Fantastic Mr. Fox' (PHOTOS)
PublishDate = 5/25/2012 12:33:32 PM
'Star Wars' Anniversary: Posters From All The Episodes (PHOTOS)
PublishDate = 5/25/2012 11:36:06 AM
Phillip Phillips -- Under the Knife On Tuesday
PublishDate = 5/26/2012 4:00:00 AM
'Diamonds Are Forever' Girl Plenty O'Toole -- Hospitalized for SERIOUS Allergic Reaction
PublishDate = 5/26/2012 3:55:00 AM
'American Idol' Champ Taylor Hicks -- The Show STILL Makes Stars ... Just Look at Me!!!
PublishDate = 5/26/2012 3:50:00 AM
Bill Maher: What Exactly Has Obama Done That Has Made Conservatives So Angry?
PublishDate = 5/26/2012 3:36:58 AM
Bill Maher Counters Birthers By Creating Mitt Romney ‘Wifer’ Controversy
PublishDate = 5/26/2012 3:07:31 AM
Advertisement
Related Websites
You might be also interested in the following websites:
Rare Birds Movie Quotes
Rare Birds Cast, Crew, News and Reviews - WhosDatedWho.com
Most Popular TV Shows
American Idol
NCIS
Big Bang Theory
Voice
Person of Interest
more popular tv shows
Most Popular Celebrities
Jessica Simpson
Khloe Kardashian
Kate Middleton
Maria Menounos
Kim Kardashian
more popular celebrities
Most Popular Movies
Avengers
Battleship
The Dictator
Dark Shadows
What To Expect When You're Expecting
more popular movies
Top Videos
Revenge
The Big Bang Theory
Young and the Restless
Two Random Hicks
Gaiam Wellness
more top videos
Help
Media Kit
Privacy
Terms of Use
Copyright Policy
Lionsgate
About Us
Sitemap
RSS
Widgets
Mobile