New janitor Misha Vilyenkov (Tony Shalhoub) finds intelligent talking parrot Paulie (Jay Mohr) locked in the basement. Paulie starts recounting his life with a little girl named Marie Alweather (Hallie Eisenberg). Ivy (Gena Rowlands) tries to return him to Marie who moved to L.A. In L.A., he encounters taco truck owner Ignacio (Cheech Marin), gets birdnapped by Benny (Jay Mohr), and sent to scientist Dr. Reingold (Bruce Davison).
This follows a long line of Hollywood animals traveling long distances to find their owners. I like this for the most part. Girlie Eisenberg is adorable. The Gena Rowlands bit is really sad. It's an emotionally powerful start to the journey. If the movie stayed at that level, this would be a great family film. It runs into trouble once it gets to L.A. One Jay Mohr is fine. Double Jay Mohr is annoying. Most of the L.A. section should be replaced with Paulie having road adventures, saving the innocent, and learning life lessons. It needs more Gena Rowlands or people like Gena Rowlands. I do like the ending more than I expected. This is mostly a fine family film.
This follows a long line of Hollywood animals traveling long distances to find their owners. I like this for the most part. Girlie Eisenberg is adorable. The Gena Rowlands bit is really sad. It's an emotionally powerful start to the journey. If the movie stayed at that level, this would be a great family film. It runs into trouble once it gets to L.A. One Jay Mohr is fine. Double Jay Mohr is annoying. Most of the L.A. section should be replaced with Paulie having road adventures, saving the innocent, and learning life lessons. It needs more Gena Rowlands or people like Gena Rowlands. I do like the ending more than I expected. This is mostly a fine family film.