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.

| Original Score: 3/5 | Nov 30, 2021

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.

| Original Score: 2/5 | Aug 29, 2019

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

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

| Original Score: 2/4 | Apr 10, 2014

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

| Original Score: B+ | Mar 30, 2014

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.

| Original Score: C+ | Mar 28, 2014

This familiar-feeling coming-of-age tale benefits from an authentic script and believable performances.

| Original Score: B | Mar 26, 2014

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.

| Original Score: 3/4 | Mar 24, 2014

That tidy resolution is telegraphed from the outset, but the energetic, never-mocking tone of all involved allows the film to stake its place alongside some of the genre's stronger and more enduring touchstones.

| Original Score: 2.5/4 | Mar 24, 2014

That very rare thing, a movie about teenagers where the characters actually seem like real teenagers, as opposed to mini posing adults.

| Original Score: 3/4 | Mar 21, 2014

The people who made this film brought the same loving attention to the characters that the characters do to the small feathered creatures they care for so deeply.

| Original Score: B | Mar 20, 2014

A sweet, gentle, and humorous movie with winning performances across the board. It leaves you with a warm feeling inside.

| Original Score: 3/4 | Mar 20, 2014

David and his friends are well-drawn portraits of innocents at an excruciatingly awkward age.

| Mar 20, 2014

What's there hits the mark, so much so that I'll confess this one left me misty-eyed.

Full Review | Original Score: 3.5/4 | Mar 20, 2014

Nicely acted and emotionally genuine, the picture doesn't necessarily demand attention, but it earns appreciation through its delicate, nicely observed handling of sensitive issues.

| Original Score: B | Mar 20, 2014

Though it's hardly an odd duck, "A Birder's Guide to Everything" has its own sweet call.

| Mar 20, 2014

A delightful coming-of-age tale...sweet and funny, with plenty of heart and intelligence.

| Mar 20, 2014

It's ultimately yet another movie about fathers and sons who need to learn how to hug. That's a theme which could stand to go extinct for a few years.

| Mar 18, 2014

The film is far from a melancholy wallow, but it does examine the ways we cope with loss and the conflicts that result when one person's healing process is faster or different from another's.

| Mar 18, 2014

A Birder's Guide to Everything should be standard issue for anyone looking to relearn the importance of a flock.

| Mar 18, 2014