''Birds of America'' (originally titled ''The Laws of Motion'') is a 2008 American

comedy-drama Comedy drama, also known by the portmanteau ''dramedy'', is a genre of dramatic works that combines elements of comedy and drama. The modern, scripted-television examples tend to have more humorous bits than simple comic relief seen in a typical ...

independent movie directed by Craig Lucas, written by

Elyse Friedman Elyse Friedman (born in Toronto, Ontario, Canada) is a Canadian writer who was raised in North York, Ontario.Andrew, Suzanne Alyssa. "Surviving Suburbia." taddlecreekmag.com, Taddle Creek Magazine, 2007. N. Pag. Web. November 1, 2010. Her late ...

, and starring

Matthew Perry Matthew Langford Perry (born August 19, 1969) is an American-Canadian actor. He is best known for his role as Chandler Bing on the NBC television sitcom ''Friends'' (1994–2004). As well as starring in the short-lived television series '' St ...

. The film premiered at the

2008 Sundance Film Festival The 2008 Sundance Film Festival ran from January 17, 2008 to January 27 in Park City, Utah. It was the 24th iteration of the Sundance Film Festival. The opening night film was '' In Bruges'' and the closing night film was '' CSNY Déjà Vu''. Fil ...

on January 24, 2008,Sundance Film festival - 2008 Online Film Guide
It was produced by

Plum Pictures Plum Pictures was an American independent film production company founded in 2003 by Galt Niederhoffer, Celine Rattray and Daniela Taplin Lundberg. Based in downtown Manhattan, the company produced up to five films a year, with a focus on both ...

.Harvey, Dennis
"Review. 'Birds of America' "
''Variety'', January 31, 2008

Premise

All Morrie's wife wants is to start a family. But when Morrie's two siblings show up needing a place to stay will they be able to juggle the pressure, or will it all be too much?

Cast

as Morrie Tanager, an uptight middle-class man who has to deal with his reckless siblings * Ben Foster as Jay Tanager, Morrie's younger brother who is prone to antisocial experiments *

Ginnifer Goodwin Jennifer Michelle "Ginnifer" Goodwin (born May 22, 1978) is an American actress. She is known for her starring role as Margene Heffman in the HBO drama series '' Big Love'' (2006–2011) and Snow White / Mary Margaret Blanchard in the ABC fa ...

as Ida Tanager, Morrie's younger sister who is a "promiscuous, broke, itinerant artist" *

Lauren Graham Lauren Graham (born March 16, 1967) is an American actress and author. She is best known for her roles as Lorelai Gilmore on The WB/ CW television series ''Gilmore Girls'' (2000–2007), for which she received nominations for Screen Actors Guil ...

as Betty Tanager, Morrie's wife *Gary Wilmes as Paul, Morrie's and Betty's neighbor as well as a tenured professor at Morrie's school. *

Hilary Swank Hilary Ann Swank (born July 30, 1974) is an American actress and film producer. She first became known in 1992 for her role on the television series '' Camp Wilder'' and made her film debut with a minor role in ''Buffy the Vampire Slayer'' (1992 ...

as Laura, Paul's wife *

Zoë Kravitz Zoë Isabella Kravitz (born December 1, 1988) is an American actress, singer, and model. She made her acting debut in the romantic comedy film '' No Reservations'' (2007). Her breakthrough came with portraying Angel Salvadore in the superhero fi ...

as Gillian Tanager, Jay's wife. *

Daniel Eric Gold Daniel Eric Gold (born September 19, 1975 in Los Angeles, California) is an American actor. He attended Lee Strasberg's Theater Institute as a teenager, and went on to graduate from Penn State in 1996, with a degree in Theater Arts. Career ...

as Gary, Ida's former boyfriend and Paul's brother.

Production

The film was shot primarily in

Darien, Connecticut Darien ( ) is a coastal town in Fairfield County, Connecticut, United States. With a population of 21,499 and a land area of just under 13 square miles, it is the smallest town on Connecticut's Gold Coast. It has the youngest population of any ...

References

External links

* * {{rotten-tomatoes, 10008685-birds_of_america 2008 films 2008 comedy-drama films 2008 independent films American comedy-drama films American independent films Films about dysfunctional families Films directed by Craig Lucas Films set in Connecticut Films shot in Connecticut 2000s English-language films 2000s American films