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Pretty Bird

Play trailer Poster for Pretty Bird R 2008 1h 37m Comedy Drama Play Trailer Watchlist
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20% Tomatometer 5 Reviews 16% Popcornmeter 250+ Ratings
A fast-talking entrepreneur (Billy Crudup) ropes a jobless scientist (Paul Giamatti) into his scheme to make and sell rocket belts.
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Pretty Bird

Critics Reviews

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Robert Koehler Variety 01/30/2008
An overly calculated cautionary tale. Go to Full Review
Duane Byrge The Hollywood Reporter 01/25/2008
This slight-framed bird never soars and ultimately crashes under the weight of its excessive thematic ballast. Go to Full Review
Philip Martin Arkansas Democrat-Gazette 07/03/2010
78/100
While the names attached to Paul Schneider's directorial debut (Paul Giamatti, Billy Crudup, Kristen Wiig) might make it sound attractive, there's a reason this 2008 black comedy - allegedly based on a true story - never made it to a theater near you. Go to Full Review
John J. Puccio Movie Metropolis 06/28/2010
4/10
...wanders hopelessly, trying to find a tone or a purpose or a point of view. Go to Full Review
Scott Weinberg Cinematical 01/28/2008
4/5
The three leads seem to be having a lot of fun with this somewhat strange material. Go to Full Review
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Audience Reviews

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05/19/2019 characters with character that engage, excellent choice of actors, pleasant movie music, production easy on the eyes, truly a nice an inspiring watch See more 12/01/2018 Excellent first half, terrible second half. The plot went nowhere, and a good start was ruined. See more 11/14/2015 The reviews here seem to be basing this film on the criteria reserved for mainstream BS and therefore miss the point entirely. The performances in this film are incredible. Crudup and Giamatti are both absolutely outstanding, and the supports are right there with them. See more 07/08/2015 This movie made no sense. A complete waste of talent. See more 09/18/2013 Just saw an edited TV version of it. I have to say, forget about watching it for entertainment. Although it is fictional, I think it is like a documentary in a way. I would disagree a bit with the movie info. The "fast-talking rainmaker" is more of a wannabe, a guy with a dream but nothing to advance it with except what he's learned from motivational books (which he doesn't really understand anyway) and some talent for putting up a false image (lying). "His wealthy acquaintance" is a guy with a mattress business and some space to spare. He seems to have been close to the shyster at one time and comes to regard him as his one real friend, and there are hints he'd like to be, uh, more than just a friend, but the feeling isn't mutual. Still, he supports Prentiss without reservation, without looking before leaping. Prentiss searches for a "genius" and tempts the reluctant rocket engineer to join by showing him some plans which may or may not have been obtained without permission by the owner... or might be just materials available at public libraries (rocket belts have been around for awhile, they just don't have any practical use due to severely limited time in the air: 15-30 seconds!). A key component, it turns out, isn't detailed, but the engineer zooms in on a picture in a video. The three men never really form a team, they do NOT "all" attempt to raise the money they need. They never seem to form a team. Actually, it would be a good set-up to have an initial sponsor supplying start-up money while concentrating on making more with his own successful business, and an engineer concentrating on making the product work. The scheme falls down because it never really had a chance to begin with (as noted, even a working jet belt isn't a good investment) and because Prentiss really doesn't know what he's doing even as a slick-talking fake -- plus he seems to be secretly planning to take all the credit and maybe all the money. The high point of the scheme is when the jet pack successfully flies (with a test pilot) for a few seconds. Then everything starts falling apart, or perhaps the failures of Prentiss start to become clear to the other two. The mattress business is going broke. The engineer becomes increasingly suspicious of Prentiss, and the sad tale descends into madness. The strange thing is, as strange as the tale may seem and as extreme as the behavior gets, something very like it has probably happened many times in real life, including the kidnapping and ATTEMPTED murder. I've seen several Prentiss types myself, known a man with a real estate business who bumbled into involvement with the mob (fortunately he got caught before he actually delivered what turned out to be bomb parts), and have experienced the pressure from money-grubbers to get someone with ideas to throw large amounts of money their way for very little in return, including a vanishingly small chance of ever seeing any money back for the "investment." See more 01/20/2013 Very diferent from the trailer, only saw it because Paul Giamatti and Kristen Wiig were in it, not realy recommendet. 3.2/10. See more Read all reviews
Pretty Bird

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Movie Info

Synopsis A fast-talking entrepreneur (Billy Crudup) ropes a jobless scientist (Paul Giamatti) into his scheme to make and sell rocket belts.
Director
Paul Schneider
Producer
Daniel Carey, Elizabeth Giamatti, Paul Giamatti, John Limotte
Screenwriter
Paul Schneider
Production Co
Sound Pictures
Rating
R (Language|A Scene of Sexuality)
Genre
Comedy, Drama
Original Language
English
Release Date (Streaming)
Jul 1, 2013
Runtime
1h 37m
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