The greatest movie ever!

It's no definitive masterpiece but it's damn close.

The joyful confection is coated in a sparkly gloss, bright enough to gleam from the darkest, most cynical corners.

This is one of the best movies I’ve seen in a very long time. You have to go and see this on the big screen.

The movie has really good actors (even Hillary Swank in a very small role, which might come as a surprise to some, because it really does not have really value to it) and some would compare it to movies like Sunshine Cleaning, Little Miss Sunshine and others. If you like those you'll probably feel that this movie might be something for you.I actually would like to compare it to the TV Show "Six Feet Under". And if I (and you) do that, than in comparison this lacks quite a bit. The dysfunctional, but still kinda working family thing has worked better there. And almost every episode is better than the movie is as a whole. So if you want good drama, watch Six Feet Under if you haven't already.The movie itself isn't bad, but a few things just don't work out. Like the relationship between Matthew Perry and his wife. While things are being said and shown, there is nothing to ground those things. On the other hand there are a few scenes that are genuine and very good. Like the "foot" thing. That is very good observation. Or an ad-lib from Matthew Perry, where he's doing the exact same thing his brother did 3 or 4 times. And while it could have been an annoying and plain stupid scene, Matthew elevates it with his choice and adds an extra flavour to it.Those scenes are few and far between though and cannot entirely save the movie. Still not a complete waste of course

"Birds of America" is a quiet independent film that managed to get big names to star in it. I'm not sure what drew Matthew Perry, Lauren Graham, Ginnifer Goodwin, and (last but definitely not least) two-time Academy Award Winner Hillary Swank to star in this film, because the story went from taking plots and characters similar to movies I've seen before, to going in weird and confusing directions that make you go "huh?". Such directions are aided by random subplots.Matthew Perry plays Morrie, a college professor who had inherited his parents' house after his father fell out a window and his mother died from cancer. The problem was, he was just completing high school when it happened, and he still had two younger siblings to take care of. Those siblings grow up to be Jay (Ben Foster) a borderline psychotic who likes laying his head on concrete waiting for cars to come by, and Ida (Ginnifer Goodwin), a promiscuous party girl who is a little less crazy than her brother, but still hard to handle.The movie doesn't bother to even begin to explain how they got this way. All we know is that Morrie is still living in that house, is married to Betty (Lauren Graham, playing yet another distraught housewife), and (random subplot alert) has not had a bowel movement in a few months. When this point is revealed, the next scene you see is Perry sitting on a toilet seat with a Microsoft laptop in front of him and a MacBook on his left side. When seeing this scene, I thought to myself, "Why, movie, why?". It's a good thing Morrie isn't a germaphobe.Things get messy when Jay and Ida have nowhere to go, move into the old house, and continue to test both Morrie and Betty's patience. Morrie can't just dump them on the street because, I guess, they're family. However, the character of Jay, to me, seemed to be better off in a mental institution given his suicidal tendencies. Why that option never occurred to Matthew Perry's character at any point in this film is beyond me. Goodwin was good in her role as a misfit, and the film could have easily just kept her. It's not that Ben Foster didn't do a good job in his role. He did. Jay just seemed too heavy a character for this movie to handle, and could have been utilized better in another movie.It also surprises me that Hillary Swank took on such a thankless role as the suburban débutante next door to Morrie and Betty who happens to be married to Morrie's boss, Paul (Gary Wilmes). Swank turns in a one-dimensional performance here that could really have been played by anyone. In fact, for some reason, her character reminded me of a less over- the-top Babs ("That boy is a P-I-G Pig!") from "Animal House" (1978). Since she's not only a two-time Oscar winner, but an A-lister at that, it surprises me that she played a role this small. They could have gotten a no-name actress, and it would have cost a lot less.This movie suffers greatest from being a hodgepodge of subplots, all of which don't tie together well or resolve originally. In fact, the title of the movie, "Birds of America", comes from a first edition book Morrie also inherited from his father. In the beginning of the film, it's revealed that Jay ripped it to shreds for reasons the movie never explains. Is the book referred to again? Not until the closing credits, where you see L.L. Bean-esque pictures of birds from this aforementioned book. These credits only remind you that the movie could have made a metaphor that made sense using this book, but didn't even try to do so.And speaking of useless subplots with shifty solutions, remember the bowel trouble Morrie has? If you've seen "Me, Myself, and Irene" (2000), you can probably guess how it's going to resolve itself. This movie tried, but the plot felt messy, unrealistic, and forgettable at the same time. I can't give it a stronger recommendation.

Great movie. It addresses to a great number of heavy subjects, such as mental illness, suicide, spouse-trouble without making it a serious depressing movie. It does not achieve this by putting lots of humor in it and so it didn't lose it's serious touch.Maybe the plot, or 'lesson-to-be-learned' is that you should fight given rules of society or bourgeoisie or what have you, BUT it's rather subtle. By this I mean that it doesn't put eccentric behavior on a pedestal (as in movies like Falling Down or American Beauty or Fightclub (just to mention some big names)).So this adds up in a good vibe and not hard-to-watch movie, acting and directing in this movie is great also.The only thing that could have bother me is the chasing-scene in the end, where they all meet up by 'accident', it's a bit too unrealistic to fit into the rest of the movie, but it does give it sort of an artistic twist.All in all in very much recommend this movie.

I watched this movie and i enjoyed it, I really did. But I've read some comments after watching it and I found that within that movie you shouldn't do that (reading comments), they are too much disturbing. So I got a small warning/advice for people who are intending to watch this fine movie: don't read the comments, just watch it. I can guarantee that you will see a great performance of M. Perry and rest of the "team". But hey, how can you see this comment when you shouldn't supposed to read it ? I hope you gonna read it anyway, and maybe you enjoy this movie as much as I did. Thats all what i want to say about this thing, but i cant post mine text cause its too short. I didn't want to write a science work considering "Birds of America", just a note that will encourage somebody to see this movie.