Birds of America

Synopsis: When Morrie was a teenager, his parents died, leaving him a house, an irritable bowel, and siblings Jay and Ida to raise. Jump ahead 20 years: Jay is homeless, fits poorly into society, and was recently injured; Ida is jobless and sleeps with strangers; Morrie is married to the long-suffering Betty who is waiting for Morrie to get tenure before having children. They constantly have to kiss up to their holier-than-thou neighbors, one of whom is Morrie's department head. Morrie brings Jay home to recover, Ida decides to visit, the siblings make the neighbors ill at ease, a strange woman visits, and the cops want to talk to Jay. What about Morrie's irritated bowels?
Genre: Comedy, Drama
Director(s): Craig Lucas
Production: First Look Studio
 
IMDB:
6.2
R
Year:
2008
85 min
49 Views


(Morrle)

My father left

me thls house.

And the mortgage,

when I was 18.

Along wlth hls flrst

edltlon of Audubon

Birds of America,

a dylng mother,

a 12-year-old slster

and a 7-year-old brother.

And falrly serlous

bowel Issues.

I dldn't do a great job

ralslng my llttle

brother and slster,

Most people would agree at

least one of them

was unstable,

posslbly Insane, unless

you asked the

other one,

who can't be

consldered rellable.

(Betty)

Dlnner's ready I

Any luck?

However you look at lt,

llfe Is an awful lot

of... shlt I

[gentle thunder]

[Approaching roar]

[Phone rings]

Hello?

What time

is it?

I'm sorry.

What?

Did...?

[Cell phone rings]

M m!

Ida Osonka Photography.

(Morrle)

Hey sls,

It's me.

Hey I How's

It golng?

Llsten, Jay...

well, I don't

want you to worry,

well, he was beat

up and hospltallzed.

N uh uh.

Then he was sllghtly,

he's flne, run over

but he's totally flne.

Oh, oh.

I'll keep

you posted.

Good luck with the job

and don't eat while

you're driving.

And no more

hltchhlkers, rlght?

Hey.

You okay?

That's good.

What about your

classes, honey?

You can't

just take off.

Oan you call

the school

or Paul?

It's just not

great timing.

Have I ever

missed a class

in seven years?

No, [kiss]

Why do you always

have to deal, huh?

Why can't Ida deal

with something

for once?

Ida is nowhere near here.

She's on her way to a

shoot, a paid one.

A paid shoot,

that would be

a slight change.

So are you

gonna be long?

I'll call you

when I know

what's happening.

Okay, drive carefully.

[Soft muslc]

[Horn honks]

Well, bye.

Thanks a lot.

No, thank you!

Don't you want

to get settled?

I don't live here.

You moved?

About a month ago.

Then what...?

Are you doing

drugs again?

I told you, Morrie,

I no longer try

to heighten

or dull my senses

artificially. I'm

really a new person.

And where exactly

does this new

person live?

(Jay)

Thls Is where

I sleep.

I gathered leaves

for the mattress.

You wouldn't belleve

how comfortable It Is.

(Morrle)

What are

you eatlng?

The future is

in the ground.

I've planted seeds.

I wanna llve clean.

I'm not a burden

out here.

Burden?

Hear the blrds?

I slt,

I see snakes.

There's a beaver.

Can you belleve

that, Morrle?

A beaverl

I'm good, Morrie.

What? Were you afraid

to call again

for cash?

No. I want to try

having less.

See what my llfe would

be llke wlthout

all the...

stuff, the noise.

Where is

your stuff?

I gave

everythlng away.

Everythlng?

Every last thing.

U h-huh.

Not Dad's first

edition of Audubon

Blrds of Amerlca?

Not your

card collection?

What if you took a break

and stayed with us

for a bit?

Please?

Oh! N ice lunch break.

Do you need a hand?

No, thank you!

I'm okay.

How's the

llttle one today?

Sleeping, thank

goodness. It was

a rough night.

Take a nap.

I'll watch him.

Oh, once I finish

with this disaster.

U m, hey, Paul said

Morrie wasn't

in school.

Is there

an emergency?

Yes! Well, what else would

keep M r. Dedication out

of school, right?

Everything okay?

Well, yeah, no, Jay

had an accldent.

It wasn't his fault.

Got clipped

by a car.

[Gasp]

Oh my

gosh! No!

He's gonna be okay.

Morrie's gonna bring

him home for dinner.

Oh, is only Jay

coming home?

Of course.

Paul loves you guys,

it's just that...

I know.

And I agree.

What Is It wlth

Morrle's famlly

and accldents?

[Baby crles]

Oh, duty calls.

I'll see

you in a

little while.

Yep.

[Soft chimes]

[Door opens

and closes]

Hey!

[Sighs]

H i, Jay.

Oh my gosh.

Well,

you must

be famished.

No, not especially.

Well, this is nice.

Did you want

to change

before we...

No.

No.

Okay.

Alrlght.

I am gonna flx

you some...

Is that meat meat

or is that

soy meat?

Soy meat?

Are you

a vegetarian?

A vegan.

Oh, I'm sorry,

I didn't know.

Oh, that's okay.

Jay can have a

Oaesar Salad

and some

garlic bread.

I'm a...

I'm a vegan.

No animal products.

You go ahead.

Not even

cheese or butter?

M ilk is

for calves...

to suckle.

Honey, why don't you

slt down and I'll

flnd somethlng.

How... about...

some... oatmeal?

Great. Oan't have

oatmeal for dinner.

Why not?

We'll get some

veggle stuff.

We'll stock up.

Stock up?

Okay.

Well, this

is nice, isn't it?

[Soft muslc]

(Morrle)

Paul and Laura

got a dog...

Shh!

That relleves ltself on

our lawn many tlmes

a day.

(Betty)

That's okay,

that's okay.

That's okay.

Did you

say anything?

(Morrle)

We can't.

We can't do anything.

We'd like to, really,

not yet.

(Morrle)

Paul Is one of

the faculty members

who recommended

me for tenure.

And he's on the

board of regents

and he golfs

with the provost.

And I need

his support.

No, that's not

what you need.

I'm gonna

get those

dishes done.

Your room's all

ready for

you, Jay.

I left clean

towels on

the bed.

I think I'm

gonna stay in

the attic.

Why? There's

nothing up there.

The cot still

up there?

Oh Jay, you mlght as

well sleep on

the ground.

I really thlnk you'd

be more comfortable

In your room.

I'd like to stay

in the attic.

Okay. I'll glve

It a qulck sweep.

You know what I really

don't want to find?

My little brother

swinging from a

rafter in the attic.

I already told

you, Morrie.

J ust because I was laying

in the road doesn't mean

I was trying to...

Dld you fall down?

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Elyse Friedman

Elyse Friedman (born 1963, in Toronto, Ontario, Canada) was raised in North York, Ontario. more…

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Submitted on August 05, 2018

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