Review of Pretty Bird (2008) by Anthony B — 31 Jan 2018

Modest, minor, and harmless, Pretty Bird is pretty funny. The cast is odd and ambitious, each actor trying something a little unorthodox for them, not risky necessarily, but the performances are definitely different and solid.

Paul Giamatti and Billy Crudup are both amusing in their roles, especially when they play off each other, which happens often because the story revolves around their equally quirky characters butting heads.

The screenplay for Pretty Bird was a hit on the blacklist but as a film it was a dud at Sundance (among other festivals) and never received a theatrical release and for the first hour I was watching it I couldn't figure out why.

It was well paced, likable, and had that mainstream appeal. It wasn't until the third act began that it quickly became apparent as to why this movie never took off (inside joke/pun intended.) Still, the third act isn't bad, just the ending, which lacked resolve.

Pretty Bird manages to maintain its tone for the most part but loses its steam in the last 30 minutes and just kind of wanders, which is odd, because the film could have gone in at least a dozen other directions that would have resulted in a more satisfying/sensible conclusion.

For actor turned director Paul Schneider (aka pseudo Jim from Parks and Recreation)'s directorial debut, Pretty Bird is successful in its own right, but let's be honest, it's textbook indie stuff.