Yellow Bird

Yellow Bird is a 2023 American drama film directed by Angus Benfield and starring Brian Doyle-Murray, Kathy Garver, Plastic Martyr, and Angus Benfield. The film follows Jake, a once-successful P. R. specialist who is now struggling to manage a local grocery store known as "The Yellow Bird" while also dealing with his failing marriage and his own sobriety.

The film is a well-intentioned drama, but it is ultimately a disappointment. The plot is slow-moving and predictable, and the characters are not particularly well-developed. The film also suffers from some technical issues, such as poor sound mixing and inconsistent cinematography.

The film's biggest problem is its lack of focus. The film tries to do too much, and as a result, it does nothing particularly well. The film wants to be a drama about addiction, a comedy about small-town life, and a romance, but it never fully commits to any of these genres. As a result, the film feels disjointed and unsatisfying.

The film's only saving grace is its cast. Brian Doyle-Murray gives a solid performance as Jake, and he is supported by a strong cast of actors except for Plastic Martyr. However, even their performances cannot save the film from its many flaws.

Overall, Yellow Bird is a disappointing film that is ultimately not worth your time. If you are looking for a good drama, there are many better options available.

IN A NUTSHELL: The film was directed by Angus Benfield, who also helped produce it and stars in the movie. Writing credit goes to Tony Jerris.

In the style of The Office and Schitt's Creek comes a fun new comedy about searching for happiness, "Yellow Bird." This heartfelt film, set in a small country-town grocery store named "The Yellow Bird," is centered around once successful PR specialist Jake (Angus Benfield), now a stock boy in his mid-forties, struggling with his sobriety, and his conscience in the guise of a gnome (Brian Doyle-Murray) who is determined to remind Jake of all his failings, including his marriage. Jake's mother, Rachel Rush (Kathy Garver), is struggling with Alzheimer's and is living in an RV. Rachel is holding onto a past she remembers as much more adventurous and exciting than this life and is determined to find it once again, and Scotty, the protagonistic store manager who is stuck in a job his father wants him to be in, and so makes all the fun and quirky employees at "The Yellow Bird" miserable in return.

THINGS I LIKED: The main cast includes director Angus Benfield, Brian Doyle-Murray, Kathy Garver, Plastic Martyr, Michael Maclane, Britt Crisp, and more. The hair stylist's name is Melissa Disney. Woah. Would you want your last name to be Disney?

I like that none of the characters look like slick, Hollywood actors, but instead, real people.

Plastic Martyr has the funniest lines of everyone.

You may not recognize any of the actors in the movie, but you'll definitely recognize the voice of Brian Doyle-Murray who voices Gnome.

If you love awkward movies, you'll love the characters in this.

The song "Yellow Bird" at the end of the movie is very sweet. It was written and performed by Ruth Benfield and Scott Oatley in 2022.

Several characters talk about the definition of a yellow bird: it refers to the love of your life, the person you can't live without. I've never heard that expression before. Have you? What I especially liked was that the film took it in another direction. Yellow Bird doesn't just refer to a person but a profession or your passion in life too.

The movie was filmed in Redding, California.

I love that Jake actually takes pride in his job and is committed to sticking with the Alcoholics Anonymous program.

The characters really grow on you by the end of the movie.

THINGS I DIDN'T LIKE: Some of the dialogue isn't very good.

Some of the acting isn't good.

The movie looks and feels like a low-budget Indie film.

It's a slow burn of a flick.

Lot of corny overacting that made the characters look like cartoon characters.

There were a few rough editing moments.

TIPS FOR PARENTS: Some profanity A woman tries to hit a man Talk of a one-night stand and a possible resulting pregnancy Finding your life's true passion.

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The reviews written by middle schoolers are nearly unanimously in favor of this low budget film. If any of the writers were adults, they clearly didn't master spelling or grammar skills before dropping out of the schools they attended for whatever short term they managed.

That being out of the way, the only few lines that this movie has that were deserving of attention and mild favorable criticism were spoken by the least redeeming of the characters: the obese daughter of the gold digger wife. When she states that she was watching Honey Boo Boo and something happened, this nod at the lowest level of recently passed pop culture was enough to convince me to watch another few scenes in hopes of another possible moment of mild amusement.

Later when this piglet of a horribly broken "wife" appears at the stores parking lot to add further indignity to the sorry sap that's that's the protagonist by opening her yap to cry to her sow of a maternal figure and beg for further punishment to the man who has been made to suffer as their whipping boy.

The punk who is managing the store has even less redeeming value, but sadly is precisely what passes for a man that's been put in charge of a sorry group of people to abuse and somehow not be called out for his (did I correctly choose the pronoun?) sexist behavior, as well as the blatant ageism this putrid little pustule oozes, with zero consequences. Whereas in real life in this current world of seeking every opportunity to be libelous in such situations.

In short, this isn't worth sitting around long enough to see what eventually happens.

Perhaps those who have not lived a life that has brought them to a "how did I get here?" moment will not connect with this film, which in part may explain the handful of "1" ratings. We can forgive these stalwart naysayers for their lack of perspective, if not for their silly assertions that the many high ratings of this rather endearing small film are somehow fake.

The ultimate takeaway about Jake, the main character, is that in staying true to the core of who he is -- a kind and humble man whose apparent lack of a spine has gotten him into the fixes he finds himself -- in the end, it is that very kindness and humility which becomes his superpower of sorts. As he comes to realize there is strength in his kindness, he in helps the store owner's son find his own courage to face up to his father's narrow demands, which brings these two characters to a better place.

The acting, while not on a high level of cinematic quality, is earnest and amusing in and of itself, especially in the final payoff at the end of the film.

The film also provides a nice break from the usual overblown and formulaic fare to which we have all become accustomed.

One Star is too high of a rating for this steaming pile of garbage.

The movie seems to have been written by some first year film students. I have never cringed at a movie so much. The acting was horrific but the real failure is the sitcom level writing that was overstretched into a full length movie on a clearly nonexistent budget.

Nearly every scene hurt my brain to watch and made me want to throw my remote through the TV to get rid of it. Whoever is writing these high rated reviews is absolutely delusional. Just because it's indie does not mean you indie film loons should just automatically love it.