Yellow Bird

This movie starts off pretty funny much like a Kenny Powers film which is exciting but may be the worst thing to happen. Why?? Because the lead, his wife and daughter are really the funny most interesting characters and their screen time is cut drastically to make room for sub story lines & characters less interesting.

The other store employees are fun and well appointed some of there script is funny. Id say the bad apple to spoil the bunch is a completely uninteresting character named "Krystal" who adds nothing of value to the story. The biggest issue is "Plastic Martyr" who plays Krystal fails to have any real acting skills and ends up killing because they place Krystal in just about every sene after introducing the character. Krystal is destracting uses exagerated body language & attention seeking facial expressions. Its obvious Plastic is just not an actor. Lets just say thats when the film goes from funny to corney fast. Overall, I gave it a 3 because all the other actors where good and the writing is "ok" with potential. In a the world of streaming where excellent acting and writing is at a 10/10 its difficult to cut corners and check boxes and end up with a good end result. This is not terrible but fell to a 3 star quickly

Id say this is a good film to put on while working for noise on something else.

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.

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.

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.

This appears to have been filmed in an actual grocery store, and all of the cast are unknowns that were surely paid very little. It's not a high shelf film, but it's not really that bad either. It feels like this director could do a lot better with more resources, since what is here is pretty well written, and as another review says: it grows on you.

The only "known" cast member is a lawn gnome that talks to the protagonist, played by the voice of Brian Doyle-Murray. He does fine. Aside from this, we have a lot of ironic social awkwardness that tends to get funnier as you get used to the budget restraints of the project.

The film is a little slow and wooden, almost feeling like a stage production that used a supermarket instead of a theatre. Still, there is a certain integrity to the project that makes it feel like there's a diamond in the rough here. I can't exactly give it a high rating, but i don't really mind it so much. I would look forward to more from some of this team, but im not sure exactly who worked on which parts of the project.

Many scenes and sets seem well inspired and intended, but we can tell that they are trying to save money pretty often. For instance, i'm pretty sure the same bran muffin was used throughout the film in 4-5 scenes, possibly more.

Still, if you have the patience for a little corner cutting, this one is surprisingly worth the watch compared to how it might seem at first glance.

Given the current writer's strike: i'd say that if this was made by horribly underpaid gig workers, i won't support it. If it's made by some earnest people that just wanted to put out a film without a lot of resources, i fully support them for it.