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Parents' Guide to

A Birder's Guide to Everything

By S. Jhoanna Robledo, Common Sense Media Reviewer

age 13+

Teen pursues rare bird in slow-moving coming-of-age film.

Movie PG-13 2014 86 minutes
A Birder's Guide to Everything Poster Image

A Lot or a Little?

What you will—and won't—find in this movie.

Community Reviews

age 14+

Based on 1 parent review

age 14+

Way too much crude sexual language

I watched this with my 11 year old daughter because she loves birds and birding. I was really disappointed with both the story itself as well as the underlying sexual themes. The story is basically about some kids who go on an adventure to find a rare bird. There are some side stories happening, such as family dynamics, etc. but not enough to fill up the entire 2 hours with a meaningful movie. What bothered me most about this movie was the abundance of crude sexual remarks (talking about wanting to do it to girls "doggie style", etc.) and lack of anything equal between the genders. The main characters are boys with two girls playing side roles. During the entire movie there are no conversations at all where two girls talk to each other. The only single word spoken is a rude remark from one girl to the other, calling her "girl". The girl that goes with the boys to search for the mysterious bird comes with them because her passion is photography and she wants to take pictures of the bird. She has been a photographer for 4 years but once she is around the boys she looses all interest in her camera and doesn't take it out, instead choosing to simply follow the boys around. Even when the bird appears, she doesn't have her camera and has to scramble for it as she suddenly remembers she is a photographer. I would have really liked to have seen a more equal role between the genders as well as cutting out some of the crude language that doesn't serve the storyline at all.

This title has:

Too much sex
Too much swearing

Is It Any Good?

Our review:
Parents say: (1 ):
Kids say: Not yet rated

The movie is heartwarming and charming, if un-energetic, with a cast of mostly likeable people struggling with real issues. David's birding provides him a connection to his mother, whom he misses very much -- a story line that's rich in material to explore.

If only it weren't eclipsed by the quest for the bird. Though presented as a grand adventure, it provides little actual conflict (save for a few red herrings thrown in), and takes up a good portion of the film without advancing the story much. Little happens in this film, and it feels slower than it's breezy 86 minutes. The ending is touching, but isn't especially surprising, and even potential conflicts that are loudly foreshadowed (will David lose the wedding rings?!) amount to nothing. Birder's Guide has its heart in the right place, but doesn't soar.

Movie Details

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