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.

Casting mostly unknown and B- actors the movie trudges slowly along. The acting, lighting, and camera work are cringe-worthy. Even some of the outdoor shots (like when his car is leaving the parking lot early on) are jerky and full of stutters. When Jake's mom is sitting on the bed in the Winnebago the lighting is so harsh and overdone it's absurd.

Jake's "acting" is accentuated by his flailing and unbelievable hand gestures which continue from start to end. He is clearly out of his element as an actor.

Why all the 10/10 ratings and reviews? They are clearly fake. This movie is nothing more than an attempt to a low budget, movie-version of the sitcom Super Store, but far, far worse. Swing and a BIG miss.

This is an original feel good film. It tells its story and makes you feel good. I appreciate the way the film touches on current, real people issues in way that is not overbearing. There two things that make this stand out in my opinion, the writing and Plastic Martyr. In the age of Marvel and CGI an original story is refreshing. The way the story is presented is completely relatable for any viewer that has ever held a job. It also brings the viewer through a range of emotions and does it well. You cannot ask for much more from a screenplay. Plastic Martyr easily stole the show for me from an acting point.

In summary, this is definitely a hidden gem worth the watch.

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.

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.