Paulie
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| Paulie | |
 Theatrical release poster |
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| Directed by | John Roberts |
|---|---|
| Produced by | Mark Gordon Gary Levinsohn Allyson Lyon Segan |
| Written by | Laurie Craig |
| Starring | Jay Mohr Tony Shalhoub Gena Rowlands Hallie Kate Eisenberg Cheech Marin Buddy Hackett |
| Music by | John Debney |
| Distributed by | DreamWorks |
| Release date(s) | April 17, 1998 |
| Running time | 91 minutes |
| Country |  United States |
| Language | English |
| Budget | $23,000,000 |
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".
Contents |
[edit] Plot
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The plot summary in this article is too long or detailed compared to the rest of the content. Please edit the article to focus on discussing the work rather than merely reiterating the plot. (August 2008) |
The film is a picaresque tale about an intelligent talking blue crown conure called Paulie and his long quest to return to his owner.
Misha Belenkoff (Tony Shalhoub), a Russian immigrant living in America, works as a janitor at an animal testing lab. There he encounters a blue-crowned conure which he hears at first singing in the basement, and is astonished when in perfect English it berates him for interrupting it. When he rushes to tell the scientists at the lab, the bird will not talk and he is scolded for wasting their time.
Misha is interested in the bird's history, and later persuades him to share his experiences with pieces of mango after reading that Paulie's species loves mango. Misha and Paulie both realize that they both share the same desire to have someone to talk to, thus Paulie tells his story. His first owner, as Paulie tells Misha, was a little girl named Marie (Hallie Kate Eisenberg) who was a stutterer. Paulie was given when just a baby bird, as a birthday present. As she 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, particularly when Marie tells her parents that the bird can talk. After a dramatic event in which Marie falls off the roof of her house in attempts to teach Paulie to fly, he is sold into a shop by her parents.
A major part of the plot is Paulie being passed from one owner to another, spending time as a window display at Bloomingdales, as a model for a brochure, as an assistant to a magician when finally, Paulie ends up in a pawn shop. Paulie is purchased there by an aging artist, Ivy (Gena Rowlands). She teaches him manners, and takes Paulie back to Marie's house, but discovers that they have moved to Los Angeles. She befriends him and agrees to take him to find Marie, so long as they pass the Grand Canyon on the way as is her dream, but sadly Ivy loses her sight and Paulie decides to stay and take care of her. Eventually Ivy passes away. Paulie departs, having finally learned to fly, and continues his journey, ensuring to pass the grand canyon on the way, fulfilling Ivy's dream for her.
In eastern Los Angeles, Paulie joins a group of performing parrots owned by Ignacio (Cheech Marin). Paulie is then kidnapped by Benny (Jay Mohr, who also voices Paulie), a thief who engineers a police raid on Ignacio's property. Benny teaches Paulie how to steal money from ATMs using other people's credit cards. In a botched jewel theft, Paulie flies down through the chimney of a house, but is trapped inside, and abandoned by Benny.
Paulie is then brought to the institute, where employees and scientists there are stunned by his intelligence. They put Paulie through several tests to test his knowledge and showcase him to mass groups of people. He is persuaded to endure more and more of this, and is promised that he will be reunited with Marie. Paulie discovers that the institute has lied to him, and refuses to cooperate with anymore tests, and embarrasses the institute's personnel, thus Paulie's wings are clipped and he is imprisoned in the basement. Angered at the research institute for taking advantage of Paulie, Misha quits his job and helps Paulie and various other animals escape from the research institute. Misha finds Marie's new address and takes Paulie there. Marie is now a beautiful woman, about 30 years old (Trini Alvarado). Paulie joyfully flies around for the first time in years, and lands on Marie's shoulder.
The film ends with Misha and Marie entering inside her house with Paulie to catch up, from some of what paulie says it is made clear he is trying to set the two up as a couple.
[edit] Production
The film's production budget was 23 million US dollars.[1]
[edit] 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]
[edit] 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 |
[edit] References
- ^ a b "PAULIE". Box Office Mojo. http://www.boxofficemojo.com/movies/?id=paulie.htm. Retrieved on 2009-04-11.
[edit] External links
- Paulie at the Internet Movie Database
- A bird's review of the movie and the confirmation of Paulie's bird species. Paulie is not a lovebird. The lovebird is smaller than a blue-crowned conure.
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- [[2]]
