De drôles d'oiseaux

This is a charming film without any car chases, gunfights, gratuitous sex or cgi superheroes. Instead you get a lot of moody comedy, wacky characters, gorgeous coastal Canadian scenery and plenty of accents to go with.

But as with many great Canadian comedies (such as New Waterford Girl, set in the same area) you need to familiarize yourself with some Canadian stereotypes & inside jokes. First of all, you have to understand that the entire east coast of Canada exists in a mind-numbed state of boredom. Nothing happens. Ever. So any film that has a submarine & an extinct duck is already a heart-pounding thriller.

That brings me to Canadian stereotype #2: Canadians are obsessed with waterfowl. It doesn't help that the national currency--upon which most other countries proudly display the image of their greatest leaders--in Canada has a picture of a duck.

Canadian stereotype #3: The police (RCP) are totally useless, unless you need someone to jump start your engine. With this in mind, you might find the ending of the movie extra hilarious.

Canadian stereotype #4: Canadians are hyper-paranoid anxiety attacks waiting to happen. Canadians are convinced that every phone is bugged, every street has secret cameras, and government helicopters circle high overhead with infrared detectors, making sure no one so much as spits on the sidewalk. William Hurt pulls off the role brilliantly, acting like a borderline neurotic basket case when anything the least bit unusual happens.

I could go on, having lived in Newfoundland for several years (by the way, it's pronounced 'newfound-LAND') and having learned some but not nearly all the quirks of the region, but I think your best bet would be to experience it yourself someday. Just bear in mind, as you watch the movie, that it's hilarious to approximately 500,000 people on the planet. The rest of the world may not get all the gags, but it's a fun movie nonetheless.

The haute-cuisine Newfoundland restaurant (with its fine wines) called "The Auk," owned by Dave Purcell (William Hurt), is almost out of business because there is no business. One night his friend, Alphonse "Phonce" Murphy (Andy Jones) asks him over to his house for dinner, where he meets Phonce's sprightly sister-in-law Alice (Molly Parker), from Gull Tickle. After the meal, Phonce takes Dave to his shed through a secret tunnel that is lit up with sheets of light hung up via a clothesline (Yuri Tsvetkov illumination system). In the shed, Phonce shows Dave a 26-pound carton of cocaine that he found at sea. Phonce wants to know what it's worth, but Dave advises him to throw it into the ocean. But when Dave snorts it, he tells Phonce that it is good quality. Phonce then shows Dave his 1,200 pound two-man prototype RSV (Recreational Submarine Vehicle). So these story lines set up the rest of the movie.

At a local library Phonce convinces Dave to claim that he saw an extremely rare bird (Tasker's Sulphureous Duck) at Push Cove (near Cape Spear NHS) close to the restaurant. Such an assertion will attract birders to the area, and since they have to eat, will provide customers for Dave's business. The ruse works as birders rush to the bay to get a glimpse of the duck. The restaurant is extremely busy. Dave, though, gets into the habit of snorting cocaine. He feels guilty when a birder plunges off a nearby cliff in a fruitless search for the rare duck. Dave convinces him otherwise, and then enlists his aid in launching his prototype sub.

Just when the long-awaited romantic interlude between Dave and Alice apparently commences, his long separated wife Claire announces that she will be arriving from Washington, DC. Then the Royal Canadian Mounted Police (RCMP) show up! What will Dave do? Will he dump the coke? Will he hang onto the girl from Gull Tickle? Will the duck ruse last? What does the RCMP want? One thing is for certain, this writer did not need to see Hurt's naked butt! Another thing, the subplots generally detract from the main story. And Dave's attraction to the coke was pointless. By the way, the Taskers Sulphureous Duck is non-existent. And the Yuri Tsvetkov illumination system is probably unreal.

On positive notes, the cinematography is excellent: the movie was filmed off the rocky and rugged shores of Newfoundland. Hurt is good as usual, and Jones is comedic. Red-headed Molly Parker, a Canadian gal, is so appealing that she brightens up the entire film. She is a scene-stealer. I do not see her attraction for the far-older man, however, except for his food-preparation expertise. By the way, the restaurant is named after the Great Auk, the flightless Atlantic sea bird that was unfortunately hunted to extinction in 1844. "Rare Birds" is really harmless fluff, lighthearted entertainment that does not really go anywhere. Yet it is entertaining, and this author did not waste time in watching it.

What does a recovered package of cocaine, a gourmet restaurant in the middle of nowhere, two of the most delightful and oddest friends I've ever met, the most naturally sexy redhead I've ever seen, Svetkoff Lights, a 1200 pound ultra-light submarine, an extinct species of duck, and undercover agents from the RCP have in common? One of the most entertaining little movies I've ever seen! The author driven screenplay kept me chuckling for the entire movie and I did not want the movie to end. What an absolute delight for both a story and a film. I loved it!!!

Much commentary I have read on this film compares it to "The Shipping News" because it is set in Newfoundland. I would like to stress, however, that this movie is in no other way like "The Shipping News". Thank goodness. "Rare Birds" tells the story of Dave, a struggling restaurant owner who is recently separated from his wife. In order to boost Dave's spirits, and his business fortunes, his crackpot friend Alphonse (or "'Phonse") cooks up a scheme to lure bird watchers to the area. Meanwhile, Dave begins to fall in love with 'Phonse's sister-in-law. This is a charming film due in part to the beautiful scenery of the Newfoundland coast (which was so drearily washed-out in "The Shipping News"). The real gem of this film, however, is Dave's friend, 'Phonse, the inventor who sees conspiracies everywhere and always makes sure to have a "Plan B". I definitely recommend this film for some light, entertaining fare. I gave it a 7.

William Hurt has a failing restaurant in Newfoundland and an estranged wife in Washington D. C. He and friend Andy Jones -- who's building a small submarine -- discover a lot of cocaine in Hurt's wine cellar. After they establish it is good cocaine (so to speak), Hurt starts a rumor that a type of duck thought extinct has been spotted in the bay his isolated restaurant sits on. Suddenly people start showing up to look for the duck and eat, and his first hire is Molly Parker.

It's a very low-key comedy, as the heat develops between Hurt and Miss Parker, Jones' submarine gets an outing, and some guys who are obviously not birders set up in a Winnebago near the restaurant.

Hurt has always been a puzzle to me as a movie star -- and, according to reports, to himself as well. He moves slowly from inert, depressed lump to hopeful lump and I can see the emotional journey, but it's the situations and fog-bound images that held my interest. The movie itself is a paean to the polite eccentrics of Canada.