24.12.09

Seriously Underrated 90s Movies: The Hairy Bird, aka Lots Of Other Stupid Titles

I've said it before (and mentioned the subject of this post in passing, too) - I have a serious soft corner for school stories, especially boarding school stories. I'm also a bit of a 90s teen movie junkie, and will admit to the blasphemy of not giving a shit about Molly Ringwald . Which is why a pre-Christmas rewatch of one of my favourite horribly underrated early-00s loves is prompting me to write this, in the hope that someone, anyone, will actually read the text of this post, and leave the movie a tiny bit less unknown- even if it is just by one person.
For starters, there's the name: this movie goes by not one, not two, but three of them. In descending order of how much I like them, they are- The Hairy Bird (the best, and true, one, based on a snort-inducingly crass joke between the characters), Strike! (not as funny, but still ok) and All I Wanna Do (sounds like it should star a Disney Channel starlet- ie, like a generic godawful teen flick). The plot is simple: it's 1961 and teenage Odette Sinclair's parents banish her to boarding school to get her away from an unsuitable boyfriend. The school in question, Miss Godard's, is in New England and all-girls, aka Hell as per Odie. But her mostly WASPy classmates- played by Monica Keena, Heather Matarazzo, and Kirsten Dunst, among others- turn out to be, to use an archaic Wodehouseism, good eggs who are nicer than Odie assumes at first sight- and much less stuffy too.
So far, there are more shades of St Clare's* than St Trinian's to the story- until the school's headmistress, Miss McVane (played by Lynn Redgrave) is forced by financial necessity to agree to a merger with a nearby boys' school. The news of this is greeted with outrage by a large chunk of the student body who feel like it's just another attempt at male domination and violation of their space +preparation for their subjugation in later life, while others like the idea of having boys at the school. In the middle of all this, ('all this' including a pervy male teacher and a snotty prefect played well enough for me to want to slap her face by Rachael Leigh Cook) is the attempted loss of Odie's virginity and the stories of the other girls, along with a planned rebellion against the merger. But the real magic lies in the chemistry between the girls, and the dialogue (sample: "Real life is boy-girl-boy-girl!" "No, Tinka, real life is boy on top of girl!").

It's really, really rare these days to find movies that discuss gender-related issues even obliquely, and even rarer for such movies to be targeted at teens. This one has had criminal injustices inflicted on it- first that horrible name, then a very limited release which means that, ten years after it was originally made, hardly anyone knows about it. It's probably too obscure to even have cult status, which can sometimes be pretentious and stupid but is at least one way of getting a good movie known.
Re: the acting, Gaby Hoffman (who plays Odie) does a nice enough job, but she's not enough to carry an entire movie. The real sparklers of the cast are her co-stars, particularly a then 15-year-old Kirsten Dunst, and Heather Matarazzo. Also, anyone keeping a sharp eye out will probably spot Mad Men's Vincent Kartheiser aka Connor from Angel, and Hayden Christensen in a bit part. And if you like the idea of a movie that feels a bit like Dead Poet's Society+St Trinian's with a 60s setting, do watch.

Not a sight expected in your regular chick flick

*Enid Blyton fans should remember this

10 comments:

Household Relocation services said...

Reading your critic a bout the movie, made me really curious to watch it. I’m going to surf the web for a free download for this movie. Thanks

Building a house said...

It sounds like a teenage crisis to me, very nice, very well said.

Wobangs said...

when i watched this movie it was called strike...weird

sildenafil said...

HI the 90 movies are great i see them all the time cause the clothes in that time was nice and you will have to see it only on the big scream.

tadalafil 20 mg said...

Right, these movies are underrated.

Still there are many overrated movies as well =)

alex said...

FINALLY!!! someone who agrees with me :)


'The Hairy Bird' has been one of my favourite movies for years, and everytime i ask anyone if they've seen/heard of it they look at my like im talking about some weird porno..
barely anyone knows about this film... and i can't buy it at any dvd shop.. i've been trying to download it for 3 weeks, but there aren't any good links.. i had no idea it was released as 'Strike' or 'All I Wanna Do' until recently.. maybe looking for those titles might come up with something a little more profitable...

Anonymous said...

it's on netflix, under the name 'all i wanna do'

Unknown said...

This movie is hardly forgotten. There are sixty reviews on IMDb, comparing well with some others, and I'm in line to be #61. It's oddly obscure though, I never heard of it back then. Recently obtained DVD (as ALL I WANNA DO) and currently midway with watching. Love Kirsten Dunst, and then there's added surprise Monica Keena, those two bring the sparkle, that makes the movie. And you've nailed it with the Rachael Leigh Cook description. But Gaby Hoffman??? No, she's the drawback to the rest of the cast.

RavenGlamDVDCollector@gmail.com

Unknown said...

The movie is hardly forgotten, with sixty reviews on IMDb, comparing well with some others, and I'm now in line to be #61. It is undeservedly obscure - I never even knew of it back then. Recently obtained DVD (as ALL I WANNA DO) and currently midway watching it. Love Kirsten Dunst, bought it because of her, and then there's Monica Keena as an added surprise. And you nailed it with your description of Rachael Leigh Cook. But on this side, not such a Gaby Hoffman fan.

RavenGlamDVDCollector@gmail.com

Unknown said...

Granting your wish! After only this year having found out about this title, and having just watched it this weekend, I have become a fan and ardent supporter to your cause! It's about to go on a list of my favorite movies, and that particular list has had hundreds of visitors these past few months. Next time anybody visits any of the entries made for the titles on that list, they will be introduced to, well, STRIKE! regrettably not as THE HAIRY BIRD. Thank you also for your related story on ST TRINIAN'S, much indebted to you. Meanwhile, check out my review for your beloved movie, and to all detractors, Up Your Ziggie With A Wah-Wah Brush!

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