Man and duck The human soul has a unique property of being attached to living beings. So the hero of the New Zealand picture Doug once picks up an injured duck, or rather a spleen, and makes him his pet. At the same time, the spleen heals the spiritual wound of Doug himself - the girl left him, saying that his work is lousy and life too. Doug initially tries to put the duck in the zoo, on a special farm, where she is given the name Pierre, but then decides to keep the winged friend. Even inflates a small pool for Pierre - because he is addicted to swimming with him in the bathroom, and also sleeps with him in bed. Along the way, Doug finds a new love - an employee of the zoo Holly.
I must say that the film is not only funny, but also really kind. That's his main virtue. Watching Doug tinker with his duck, talk to her, take her to the stadium, look for her in the woods when she's lost is very moving. I almost cried when Pierre was found. The romantic comedy was also very good. Doug has been rushing for some time - will he not return to his former girlfriend-bitch or still stay with Holly?
Despite having a diploma, Doug is a worker and enjoys what he does (his team fixes roads, cleans swimming pools) – and it’s clear that New Zealand’s workers live very well, especially if everyone in the brigade is your big friends (and white guy, and Hindu, and Maori (most likely half). This is not the hard life of workers in an economically backward country. New Zealand, after all. There are no crazy scenery from The Lord of the Rings in the film, but it is green and beautiful and the city of Wellington on the horizon is very pleasant architecturally.
The director decided to make Doug a fan of the group “Queen”, so the soundtrack is familiar from childhood songs of Freddie Mercury, selected according to the circumstances.
It was nice to see on the screen aged, but not lost the charm of Brian Brown, who recently removed a little. He’s from Australia, but why should he fly to New Zealand? He plays a bird specialist. In addition, the main character was brought from England itself. Holly played Sally Hawkins, not so long ago noted in the acclaimed film “Jasmine” by Woody Allen – there she played the role of the sister of the main character.
For director Paul Murphy, it’s only his second film, but to my taste, it’s very, very successful. It's a great mood for the viewer.
And of course, I kept wondering, will Pierre fly eventually or not? Or is he so attached to Doug that he decides to stay with him forever?
7 out of 10