Birds of America (2008)

Director: Craig Lucas

Cast: Matthew Perry as Morrie, Ben Foster as Jay, Ginnifer Goodwin as Ida, Lauren Graham as Betty Tanager, Zoë Kravitz as Gillian, Hilary Swank as Laura, Gary Wilmes as Paul, Daniel Eric Gold as Gary, Stacie Theon as Ellen Thomas, Lindsay Allen as Roller-Blading Girl, Tom Pelphrey as Hitchhiker, Will Toale as Young Male Cop, Vivien Kells as Sleeping Girl (as Vivien Kells O'Brien), Keith McDermott as Man in Street, Marisa Zalabak as Woman in Street

Recently,there have been some movies dedicated to examine the silent
melancholy of the middle class,hidden behind the illusion of
"normality" the society requires to interact.In other words,films like
Dan in Real Life,Kabluey and now Birds of America,are films which
follow the themes and ideas examined on superior films like American
Beauty and The Ice Storm.I think that the clue to success on this
sub-genus is having interesting characters starred by actors who can
dominate the difficult balance between humor and tragedy.Birds of
America fulfills the second condition but the characters from this
movie are not completely solid.Let's first talk about the good elements
from this interesting,but not totally satisfactory,film.The dialogs
from this movie are intelligent and realistic; they never feel
forced.The performances are excellent.Matthew Perry brings a very solid
performance,as well as Lauren Graham.Ginnifer Goodwin,Ben Foster and
the great Hilary Swank also show conviction and credibility on their
roles.And,in spite of the fails,I think this movie is an interesting
experience.Now,let's see the negative elements.As I previously
mentioned,the characters are not completely solid in spite of being
perfectly performed.I mean,the characters are insipid because they
lacked of more development on the screenplay.And,in spite of the short
running time (85 minutes), the film gets a little bit dull on a few
occasions.In spite of that fails,Birds of America is an interesting
movie but I feel that with a better development of characters,it could
have been much better than what it is.In summary,a good film but not
completely satisfactory.