There are very few wide release animated films that don’t carry a Disney or DreamWorks insignia. As a fan of both independent film and animated features, I was hesitantly optimistic about Reel FX Creative Studios and Relativity Media’s Free Birds-perhaps it would be better than anyone gave it credit for being. Unfortunately it did not live up to my relatively low expectations
If you don’t know the premise, it stars Owen Wilson as Reggie the pardoned Turkey of 2013 and Woody Harrelson as Jake a turkey with a troubled past hell bent on going back in time to take turkey off of the thanksgiving menu. I have to admit; when I heard the conceit I was excited. Time travel is one of my favorite ideas in any media. My favorite books involve time travel, as do several of my favorite movies. Time travel, I think, is a ubiquitous thought. The need and want to go back and fix an error in our lives, or in the lives of others is very human. This premise-delivered directly to camera by Harrelson’s Jake- is hilariously offbeat, even in a genre full of offbeat ideas. Unfortunately Free Birds is a movie that touches on ideas but never comes close to delivering on a single one.
The problem is systemic. It’s a structural problem that I see more and more movies struggling with. Free Birds stars Reggie (Owen Wilson) the average action/animated hero. A smarter-than-everyone-around-him plucky introvert with a heart of gold and “deep” personal insecurities- that really just boil down to being lonely- who saves the day and gets the girl. If this were a live action movie he’d be played by Charlie Hunnam. He is the embodiment of “scruffy white male” (even though in truth he is a clean shaven brown turkey) I don’t know why Hollywood seems to believe that a movie can only star a scruffy white male. There are countless movies that could be improved if we could try another character as the audience surrogate.
Aside from Reggie, the film stars Harrelson as Jake, who he plays in his very Harrelson way of bizarre speech patterns and tough guy bravado. Harrelson is one of the few bright spots in the film. It’s a shame so much of it is devoted to the boring Reggie character and his hackneyed love story with Amy Poehler’s Jenny-the which should bear little mention in any review. Also positive is the Time Machine named S.T.E.V.E played with aplomb by George Takei. Honestly S.T.E.V.E is the only truly unique part of Free Birds, which is saying a lot for a movie with such a unique premise.
The second biggest disappointment-aside from not delivering on a winning premise- is the waste of an incredibly talented cast. Everyone in this film is truly hilarious in other things. Your time would be much better spent watching any of those things. This is a movie with Owen Wilson, Woody Harrelson, Amy Poehler, George Takei and Keith David, and it can’t seem to make the jokes land. All of that lies directly on the shoulders of the writers.
At the end of the day, Free Birds is a forgettable film. A movie with so much borrowed humor that has been done better in nearly every other incarnation. I see no reason to put effort into watching this film.
Should you watch this movie? Nah.
Where can I watch this movie? Netflix.
Recommendation: I really hate morning zoo style radio shows. I think they bring out the worst in people and are almost exclusively angry white menBeing vaguely racist/homophobic/sexist/generally the worst kind of human garbage. So it is actually quite odd that I love Jordan Jesse Go! the flagship (?) podcast of the Maxfun network. In it "America's Radio Sweetheart" Jesse Thorn and "Boy Wonder" Jordan Morris kind of just bullshit around with a guest, it is in many ways similar to a normal morning zoo style. However Thorn's focus, and Morris' affability (along with riffs that never know when to quit) provide some of the biggest laughs I've ever had. You can find it here, or download it on Itunes.
