A Birder's Guide to Everything

PG-13

Released Mar 21, 2014

1 hr. 28 min.

Comedy

Drama

List

87%

23 Reviews

Tomatometer

67%

1,000+ Ratings

Audience Score

On the eve of his father's remarriage, a teenage birding enthusiast (Kodi Smit-McPhee) leads his friends on a road trip to find an extremely rare duck.

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Premiered Jun 21

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Critics Consensus

A Birder's Guide to Everything may not be a rare find, but it's surely a heartfelt sight for sore eyes nestled between perfectly hatched performances.

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Audience Member

Entertaining enough 2.9

Rated 3 out of 5 stars

01/05/22

Full Review

Audience Member

The unique and appealing backdrop this film seems to have at it's core is not prioritized by the director/screenwriter which is unfortunate because drumming up a searing little coming-of-age tale dramedy would've proved to be a potent romp.

Rated 2.5 out of 5 stars

02/20/23

Full Review

Audience Member

Esta bien chida y Wolff es precioso

Rated 5 out of 5 stars

01/18/23

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Audience Member

For a little indie picture (since no film was used), pretty good. And a hint of the tradition of the beloved John Hughes, too soon gone. Would've been interesting if he could've been involved thru Sundance, et al. Yes, as others have noted, a coming-of-age lite storyline. Not a fan of Kingsley since "Ghandi" (too self-serious, "I am Actor" aura) he's just about right here. Wonder how he happened to be involved ...? For a low budget production, it looks pretty good, except for the occasional handheld that shoulda been tripoded, & vice versa. | No subtitles on the DVD for occasionally murky dialogue.

Rated 3.5 out of 5 stars

02/18/23

Full Review

farah r

A sweet and sentimental adventure. There's a lot to love about A Birder's Guide To Everything even if it does feel like a young adult novel adapted into a movie.

Rated 3 out of 5 stars

03/30/23

Full Review

Audience Member

A Birder's Guide To Everything is a great wee flick and I really liked it. Based around teenagers who love searching for birds the best thing i can say about this movie is that it made me care about the birds. Kodi Smit-McPhee comes through once again with a great performance as David. Michael Chen, Alex Wolff and Katie Chang are also very likable as david's friends and fellow birders. Their chemistry together is great and adds to the movie. Although the plot is focused on birding it isn't difficult to recognise the problems that David is running from which also works in the movie's favour. A Birder's Guide To Everything is a thoughtful funny and engaging coming of age tale, one to check out!

Rated 4 out of 5 stars

01/29/23

Full Review

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Rob Meyer

Director

Kodi Smit-McPhee

David Portnoy

Ben Kingsley

Lawrence Konrad

James LeGros

Donald Portnoy

Alex Wolff

Timmy Barsky

Katie Chang

Ellen Reeves

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A Birder's Guide to Everything: Official Clip - Dork Baiting

2:57

A Birder's Guide to Everything: Official Clip - Carpe Diem

2:35

A Birder's Guide to Everything: Official Clip - Don't Confuse Me With a Role Model

2:04

A Birder's Guide to Everything: Official Clip - Fillers, Listers and Watchers

3:00

A Birder's Guide to Everything: Official Clip - Project ANAS

1:39

A Birder's Guide to Everything: Official Clip - Young Birder's Society

2:32

A Birder's Guide to Everything: Official Clip - A Lazarus Species

2:15

A Birder's Guide to Everything: Official Clip - You Shot An Extinct Duck

2:32

A Birder's Guide to Everything: Official Clip - I Don't Really Have a Boyfriend

2:40

A Birder's Guide to Everything: Official Clip - David's Duck

1:58

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GrrlScientist

Guardian

You don't have to be a birder to enjoy it. The movie shows that seeking the rare and elusive is often more than just a physical quest; it also is a spiritual journey that changes the seeker.

May 12, 2014

Full Review

Ty Burr

Boston Globe

It actually gets the birds right. It's the humans who are hard to identify.

Rated: 2/4

Apr 10, 2014

Full Review

Mary Houlihan

Chicago Sun-Times

The trek through the serene, beautiful woods highlights the banter between the quartet as truths are unveiled and friendships strengthened. The young actors shine revealing lights on their characters.

Rated: 3/4

Mar 24, 2014

Full Review

Michael J. Casey

Michael J. Cinema

The metaphor at work here is an obvious one, but it works. Being a teenager doesn't often revolve around subtlety. Obvious is the way to go.

Rated: 3/5

Nov 30, 2021

Full Review

Nicholas Bell

IONCINEMA.com

Well-meaning but unremarkable in every regard, A Birder's Guide to Everything has a much more limited scope than its title promises, and still, as hard as it tries, can't quite seem to convey the draw of (or passion for) its titular, peculiar hobby.

Rated: 2/5

Aug 29, 2019

Full Review

Brent Simon

Shared Darkness

Instead of pandering to one and only one sentiment, this engaging offering -- poised pleasantly between quaint and quirky -- does entirely right by adolescent feeling.

Rated: B+

Mar 30, 2014

Full Review

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Synopsis

On the eve of his father's remarriage, a teenage birding enthusiast (Kodi Smit-McPhee) leads his friends on a road trip to find an extremely rare duck.

Director: Rob Meyer
Screenwriter: Rob Meyer, Luke Matheny
Distributor: Screen Media Films
Production Co: Dreamfly Productions
Rating: PG-13 (Sex and Drug References|Language|Brief Partial Nudity)
Genre: Comedy, Drama
Original Language: English
Release Date (Theaters): Mar 21, 2014, Limited
Release Date (Streaming): Aug 13, 2015

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