Paulie
| Paulie | |
|---|---|
 Theatrical release poster | |
| Directed by | John Roberts |
| Written by | Laurie Craig |
| Produced by | Mark Gordon Gary Levinsohn Allyson Lyon Segan |
| Starring | Jay Mohr Tony Shalhoub Gena Rowlands Hallie Kate Eisenberg Cheech Marin Buddy Hackett |
| Music by | John Debney |
| Distributed by | DreamWorks |
Release date | April 17, 1998 |
Running time | 91 minutes |
| Country |  United States |
| Language | English |
| Budget | $23,000,000 |
| Box office | $26,875,268 |
Paulie is a 1998 film about a bird named Paulie, starring Tony Shalhoub, Gena Rowlands, Hallie Kate Eisenberg, and Jay Mohr. Jay Mohr performs the voice of Paulie, and as well plays a minor on-screen character. The film was released domestically as early as April 17, 1998 and as late in other nations as March 23, 1999. The film was nominated for 5 awards and won 2. The film was rated PG by the MPAA for "Brief Mild Language".
Plot
 | This article's plot summary may be too long or excessively detailed. (August 2008) |
The film is a picaresque tale about an intelligent talking blue-crowned conure called Paulie and his long quest to return to his owner.
Misha Belenkoff (Tony Shalhoub), a Russian immigrant and former teacher of literature, is living in America and working as a janitor at an animal testing lab. There he encounters a blue-crowned conure, and is astonished when it speaks to him in perfect English. In classic Singing Frog fashion, the bird will not talk when Belenkoff brings witnesses.
Misha persuades the bird to tell his story with pieces of mango after reading about the diet of conures. Paulie tells Belenkoff about his real owner, a little girl named Marie (Hallie Kate Eisenberg) who was a stutterer. Paulie is shown in flashback, first as a baby bird (in truth, probably too young a bird to be adopted). As Marie learns to speak, so does he, and he learns well, understanding the meaning of words and learning to construct complex sentences. Marie's father does not like the bird, and gives him away after a dramatic event in which Marie falls off the roof of her house in an attempt to teach Paulie to fly.
Mirroring the sad life of many pet parrots, a major part of the plot is Paulie being passed from one owner to another, ending up in a pawn shop. Paulie is purchased by a widowed artist, Ivy (Gena Rowlands). She befriends him and agrees to take him to find Marie, who has moved across the country. Ivy loses her sight and Paulie decides to stay and take care of her. Eventually Paulie, having finally learned to fly, continues his journey.
In East Los Angeles, Paulie joins a group of performing conures owned by Ignacio (Cheech Marin), but is then kidnapped by Benny (Jay Mohr, who also voices Paulie), and begins a life of crime. In a botched jewel theft, Paulie flies down through the chimney of a house, but is trapped inside and abandoned.
Paulie is then brought to the institute, his current home, where employees and scientists there are stunned by his intelligence. They put Paulie through tests and promise that he will be reunited with Marie. When Paulie discovers that the institute has lied to him, he refuses to cooperate with any more tests. Paulie's wings are clipped and he is imprisoned in the basement.
As children will expect, Belenkoff gives up his menial job and risks all to release Paulie and take him to Marie. Marie, now a beautiful grown-up woman (Trini Alvarado), is unrecognizable to Paulie. After a moment of confusion, they are happily reunited. Paulie joyfully flies.
The film ends with Misha and Marie going into her house with Paulie to catch up. It is made clear that Paulie is trying to set the two up as a couple.
As this is a children's film, meant for entertainment, it cannot really be faulted for poor bird care examples throughout. Still, anyone craving a conure after viewing the movie should certainly find other sources of care instructions. Paulie is alternately kept in cages too small for him and left out in the open, is brought outside in the snow, is allowed to perch above things a person might wish to maintain clear of bird droppings, is left alone and uncaged with a cat, is encouraged to free-fly outdoors in unsafe conditions, is forced to wear hats, is kept in a drafty, dark basement, and is left in a disabled vehicle in the desert. Of course, he also commits crimes and insults university professors, but he seems to overcome his troubles.
Production
The film's production budget was 23 million US dollars.[1]
Reception
The film is publicly well received. As of April 11, 2009, the movie has scored a 63% or 6.1/10 rating at Rotten Tomatoes with positive quotes like "A perfect family movie with the intelligence, humor and hug-me moments..." and negative quotes like "Paulie has moments of minor charm but lacks the magic to fully capture the imaginations of either children or adults".
It was distributed in 24 countries and 10 different languages between 1998 and 1999.
Paulie grossed $5,369,800 on its opening weekend, and $26,875,268 USD altogether. It was released in 1,812 theaters [1].
Awards And Nominations
| Award | Category | Result |
|---|---|---|
| ALMA Award | Outstanding Actor in a Feature Film - Cheech Marin | Nomination |
| ALMA Award | Outstanding Actress in a Feature Film - Trini Alvarado | Nomination |
| BAFTA Children's Award | Best Children's Feature Film | Won |
| Bronze Gryphon | Early Screens - John Roberts | Won |
| Young Artist Award | Best family feature - Comedy | Nomination |
| Young Artist Award | Best performance in a feature film - Young Actress aged ten or under - Hallie Kate Eisenberg | Nomination |
| Young Artist Award | Best performance by a young actress in a comedy film - Hallie Kate Eisenberg | Nomination |