Some people might call "Paulie" a kids' movie, but I wish to assert that it's more than that. Probably more than anything else, this movie successfully goes to great lengths to show the plight of immigrants in the United States - topical given the recent debates. Portraying a parrot telling a Russian immigrant janitor (Tony Shalhoub) of how he searched America for his original owners, the movie tells several stories. There's the elderly woman (Gena Rowlands) whom he befriends, then a Mexican immigrant (Cheech Marin),and others.

All in all, it's a very well done movie. I usually don't expect much from these sorts of movies, but this one is a treat. I certainly recommend it. Also starring Jay Mohr, Buddy Hackett, Bruce Davison, Hallie Eisenberg and Trini Alvarado.

Even if the film gets a little slow in places and there are one or two underwritten characters, Paulie is still a sweet and very charming film. The story does have a number of lovely moments, such as the chemistry between Paulie and young Marie, and the script is touching with some moments of sly wit. Where else would you see a parrot cheering on the winged attackers while watching Hitchcock's The Birds, or even Bruce Davison wanting to steal the secret of Paulie's voice, Gena Rowlands trying to teach the cocky bird some manners and Cheech Marin introducing him to his singing circus?

The film is lovely to look at, with beautiful cinematography and scenery, and the animiatronics are absolutely superb. I loved the soundtrack too, and the direction is good. And I was fine with the acting, Tony Shalhoub does what he can in the underwritten role as the Russian janitor, while Cheech Marin and Gena Rowlands are cute in their roles and Bruce Davison is fine too as Dr Reingold. However, two characters make the film. One is young Marie, the speech-impaired but simply adorable little girl who takes care of Paulie. She is played with precious innocence by Hallie Kate Eisenberg. The other is Paulie himself, he is very cocky but he is also very cute and superbly voiced by Jay Mohr. Whenever the two are together, the film does have a lot of heart.

Overall, not outstanding by all means but hits a lot more than it misses. 8/10 Bethany Cox

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.