While I Can't Guarantee You've Never Heard of "Love Birds"... It's Probably Unlikely

That's a duck, not a kiwi...

The Story:

Doug (Rhys Darby) has just been dumped by his girlfriend (Faye Smythe).  It's a crushing blow for Doug, and then he finds an injured duck on his roof.  He takes it to the zoo where Holly, the vet (Sally Hawkins) refuses to take it in.  After talking to another vet (Bryan Brown), he decides to nurse the duck back to health himself.  Doug and his duck bond, and Doug's life begins to change on the romantic front.  Maybe this duck is actually a love bird...

Welcome to a cute little romantic comedy from down under, Down Under.  From New Zealand to be precise, and if memory serves, this is only the 2nd film from that country I have seen.

And it's their best.

Plus the best part, you can watch a foreign film...

Without Subtitles!!

:)

Rhys Darby is charming in the lead role.  Apparently he is a comedian in New Zealand.  Throughout the film, I thought he looked a lot like a less-defined Hugh Jackman. 

Perhaps there's something in the water down there?

Nevertheless, he pulls off leading man duties with ease, and he's rather fun with the absurdity of having a duck invade his life.

It's a fun little film with Doug taking the duck literally everywhere with him, and people not even batting an eye as he rolls the duck through a grocery store inside of the shopping cart.  Probably in New Zealand you actually could get away with that.  In America, it would be dinner...

Naturally, the course for love with Doug and Holly has complications from the get-go as she is a single mother, and then Doug's girlfriend decides that maybe she wants him back.

Oh, and one final thing I failed to mention, Doug is a huge fan of Queen.  If you enjoy the group, you'll love the soundtrack.  A lot of hits, sprinkled with one or two non-radio smashes (at least in America...)

Charming little romantic comedy that should make for a cuddly little date night.


Available to stream instantly on Netflix as of this writing.

Final Grade: B

Rewatchability/Purchase Factor: I could definitely watch this one again.  It's a cute little charmer with a likeable lead, and an adorable duck.  My daughter walked in while I had this on and she got all kinds of excited.  "Duck! Duck!"  Adorable.