There’s an American Asa Butterfield?! Of course there is. This is what you get when you elevate Jesse Eisenberg to A-List status – an entirely new acting school devoted to the fine art of understatement and good natured wishy-washiness. Don’t get me wrong; this is a good thing. I mean, think about the consequences of Vin Diesel or Megan Fox dominating schools of acting.
The bird talks to James. The book talks to James. The poster talks to James. James Whitman (Lucas Jade Zumann, the American Asa Butterfield) that is, a distant relation to the celebrated American poet/counter-culturist Walt Whitman, who hangs above James’ bed. The poster and bird give James pretty good advice; it generally amounts to “carpe diem,” but for a guy with life hesitancy issues, that’s as good a place as any to start. The bird, a pigeon, is also his psychologist. I suppose it’s ok if we let the pigeon tend to the psychological welfare of this befuddled teen so long as we don’t let it drive the bus to school.
Have you ever been so in love that kissing made you imagine a constellation of your partner? Oh yes, Dr. Bird’s Advice for Sad Poets is as silly-romantic as films get. Among other things, James is in deeply in love. The object of his desire is Sophie (Taylor Russell), the prettiest girl in school. James cannot even glance at Sophie without skyrockets going off. Little does James know, he has an in: Sophie runs the student quarterly which often features the poetic works of James’ older sister. James’ older sister ran away from home. It’s possible you would too if you and your sibs referred to your father (Jason Isaacs) as “The Brute.”
I’m not conveying well what giddy fun this film is –in sections- It’s a film that loves its characters and one in which where teens constantly act like unsupervised adults, using words like “Spunktrumpet” to insult on
e another and dressing as if The Great Gatsby were still a thing. James is a basket case, but the illusions he creates to cope with his world are delightful, like his pigeon psychologist and constant cosplay and alter-ego battles. We feel sorry for James; it’s hard not to root for him; in a nation of Mean Girls, James is after the one doing vector calculus and editing the school quarterly.
Dr. Bird’s Advice for Sad Poets is also a mystery. Early on, James decides to make a point of finding his sister, wherever she may be. This journey will include the obstacles of love, responsibility, and David Arquette, but not necessarily in that order … and this is where the film loses me. After a delightful Act I and Act II, Sad Poets made sad poets out of its audience while reintroducing reality in Act III. I still liked the film enough to recommend it, but –man oh man- did I get letdown by non-fantasy. Yeah, the film ended correctly and politely, but this one promised fantasy and eventually delivered harsh cynicism. Shame, I would love to have put it on a top 10 list; that ain’t happenin’ now.
A kid who was down on his luck
Needed to get his demeanor unstuck
He got not a smidgen
From sessions with pigeon
Perhaps next time, he’ll work with a duck
Rated R, 109 Minutes
Director: Yaniv Raz
Writer: Yaniv Raz
Genre: This is silly, right?
Type of being most likely to enjoy this film: Loners, romantics, the perpetually depressed
Type of being least likely to enjoy this film: People who lack patience for nerdery
