A Birder's Guide to Everything
Screen Media Films | Release Date: March 21, 2014 CRITIC SCORE DISTRIBUTION
61
METASCORE
Generally favorable reviews based on 12 Critic Reviews
Positive:
8
Mixed:
4
Negative:
0
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Critic Reviews

Critic scorePublicationBy date
75
Portland OregonianMarc MohanMar 27, 2014
In spite of its familiar outlines, director Rob Meyer's first feature benefits from an authentic script and performances. Read full review
75
RogerEbert.comSheila O'MalleyMar 21, 2014
A tender and gentle coming-of-age story, as well as a meditation on grief and letting go. It is also that very rare thing, a movie about teenagers where the characters actually seem like real teenagers, as opposed to mini posing adults. Read full review
75
Chicago Sun-TimesMary HoulihanMar 20, 2014
The young actors shine revealing lights on their characters. Read full review
70
The New York TimesStephen HoldenMar 20, 2014
This gentle comedy, the first feature directed by Rob Meyer, is an eye opener for anyone who takes the everyday natural world for granted. It is also a quiet brief for the cultivation of intellectual curiosity and scientific exploration at an age when hormones rule so much behavior. Read full review
70
Los Angeles TimesRobert AbeleMar 20, 2014
The brusque teen humor, underpinning turmoil and sentiment all seem to be pulled and massaged from the same organic whole, and that's refreshing in a genre so often built on gimmicks and stereotypes. Read full review
70
The Hollywood ReporterJohn DeForeMar 18, 2014
Meyer and Luke Matheny's script is full of the kind of nit-picky detail one hears when birders converse, and milks some life lessons out of philosophical differences between "listers" and "watchers." Read full review
70
VarietyRonnie ScheibMar 18, 2014
The constant, genial comic undercurrent of teenspeak exchanges, penned by the writing team of helmer Meyer and Luke Matheny, contrasts satisfyingly with Kingsley’s wry musings and the more serious treatment given to David’s evolving maturity. Read full review
63
Slant MagazineDrew HuntMar 19, 2014
The film exhibits strong character interplay and resides in an unconventional milieu, in effect turning rote material into something that feels decidedly eccentric. Read full review
60
The DissolveJen ChaneyMar 18, 2014
The film captures its lush, leafy settings with an understated evocativeness that fully immerses the audience in its sense of place. The problem is that the movie ultimately leans too heavily on that sense of understatement, failing to let genuine, unexpected emotion fully break through to the surface. Read full review
58
The PlaylistKevin JagernauthMar 27, 2014
There is enough of a simple charm to A Birder's Guide To Everything that there are worse things you could do with your hour and a half. The lead teens in particular give the material a realness that may not have been there on the page, and the filmmakers know enough not push the quaint story beyond the safe parameters it operates in. Read full review
50
Boston GlobeTy BurrApr 10, 2014
At its occasional best, A Birder’s Guide to Everything hints at the profound pleasure of standing very still and witnessing wonders the rest of the world passes by. Read full review
40
Village VoiceSherilyn ConnellyMar 18, 2014
While it doesn't quite encompass everything, the film's still a bit too busy for its own good. Read full review
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