The Hairy Bird
Encyclopedia
The Hairy Bird also released under the titles Strike! (Canada) and All I Wanna Do (US), is a 1998
comedy film
written and directed by Sarah Kernochan
. It stars Gaby Hoffmann
, Kirsten Dunst
, Monica Keena
, Heather Matarazzo
and Rachael Leigh Cook
as students of the fictional Miss Godard's Preparatory School
for Girls, and Lynn Redgrave
as the school's headmistress. The film takes place in 1963 and focuses on several students' plotting and sabotage of a proposed merger for the school to go coed.
The film's setting, in 1963, is based loosely on Kernochan's experiences at Rosemary Hall
around that time. Filming was done in Toronto, Ontario, Canada at the Trafalgar Castle School
in Whitby
. The song "The Hairy Bird" plays during the film's end credits; it was written by Kernochan and sung by a group which includes Kernochan and five of her Rosemary Hall classmates, including Glenn Close
.
boarding school
in the era between the Bay of Pigs Invasion
and the assassination of President John F. Kennedy
. Odette 'Odie' Sinclair (Hoffman) is forcibly transferred by her parents to Miss Godard's Preparatory School for Girls after her parents find out that she has planned to have sex with her boyfriend, Dennis (Matthew Lawrence). Upon arrival to the school, which is run by the headstrong headmistress Miss McVane (Redgrave), Odette is introduced to her roommates, the intelligent and charismatic Verena von Stefan (Dunst) and the promiscuous Tinka Parker (Keena). Verena and Tinka are the school's primary troublemakers; both mock an uptight hall monitor named Abigail 'Abby' Sawyer (Cook), who has a penchant for tattle-taling, and Verena regularly buys cigarettes from a lunch cook and is constantly late for classes.
After a brief hazing
period, Odie is welcomed into the D.A.R. (Daughters of the American Ravioli), a club of several girls at the school who have greater aspirations than those of their peers; the members congregate in the school's attic, where they have access to canned ravioli stored above the cafeteria. The club is led by Verena, and consists of several other girls, including Theresa 'Tweety' Goldberg (Matarazzo), a bulimic who self-induces vomiting by drinking ipecac syrup and plans to be a child psychologist; and Maureen 'Momo' Haines (Merritt Wever), a well-spoken science nerd and aspiring biologist. Verena has plans to start a fashion magazine like Vogue
, while Tinka plans to be an "actress-folk singer-slut". Odette declares her interest in politics, but pines to finish what she started with Dennis and lose her virginity.
The D.A.R. begins planning a rendezvous for Odie and Dennis, but when it is discovered that Miss Godard's is considering going coed with the nearby St. Ambrose boys' academy, the girls become divided on the matter and ultimately the club breaks up, leaving Verena and Momo to plan a sabotage for an upcoming dance with the St. Ambrose boys. Meanwhile, the board of trustees for the school deliberates on the matter, which include Abby's parents. Miss McVane detests the merger, but can do little about it because of the school's financial problems.
As the St. Ambrose dance arrives, Verena and Momo concoct a plan to cast the boys' academy in a bad light, by spiking the fruit punch with alcohol from the chemistry
lab and feeding them Tweety's ipecac to induce vomiting during their choir performance; Verena then plants empty liquor bottles in their school bus. The same night, Dennis arrives at the academy dressed in a St. Ambrose uniform and meets Odette for their rendezvous in the attic of the school.
Tweety and Tinka have a change of heart on the coed integration after Tweety is humiliated by one of the St. Ambrose students. With the help of a group of teenage male townies called "The Flat Critters", led by Snake (Kartheiser) who has a crush on Tinka, they end up sending the intoxicated St. Ambrose boys home with a poor reputation. Miss McVane recognizes Verena as the mastermind behind the sabotage. Despite Miss McVane's appreciation for Verena's efforts, she is forced to expel Verena for having been caught fraternizing in her undergarments with a St. Ambrose boy.
The following week at the end of the year ceremony, the announcement of the merger is made by Mrs. Sawyer, much to the disapproval of the girls, including Abby. The students, led by Odie, hole up inside the school dormitories and demand a student body vote count as a single vote on the board of trustees. Meanwhile, a media circus surrounds the school, and the board of trustees agree to a student vote. Ultimately, the votes against the integration outnumber those for it, and the students donate their personal savings to help with the school's debt.
In a humorous epilogue prior to the credits, the following is revealed: Verena goes on to publish Moi, one of the most-read women's publications in the world; Odette becomes a congresswoman and declares war on the tobacco industry
; Momo is a scientist developing the first male oral contraceptive; Tinka, a famous actress, ironically comes out to Barbara Walters
in a 1997 interview; Tweety became a psychologist and wrote a best-seller about bulimia; Abby, a radical political activist, is serving a prison sentence for a 1970 bank holdup; and Miss Godard's is still a girls school.
also at Loretto Abbey CSS (especially the chapel scenes), and was financed through Alliance Atlantis
studios, a Canadian distribution company. The film was then picked up by Miramax and was given a limited release
in the United States in September 1998 under the title All I Wanna Do, because Miramax found the film's original title, The Hairy Bird (which alluded to male genitalia), to be too offensive. Likewise, the film was released in Canada under the title Strike!. The only country to release the film under its original title was Australia.
In March 2000, the film was re-released in New York City at the United Artists Union Square Theater where it grossed $5,383 in its single week of screenings. Several months later in the summer of that year, the film was released on video and DVD.
1998 in film
-Events:* February 14 - Sharon Stone marries Phil Bronstein.* Former child star Gary Coleman is charged with assaulting a young female bus driver at a California shopping mall.-Top grossing films:...
comedy film
Comedy film
Comedy film is a genre of film in which the main emphasis is on humour. They are designed to elicit laughter from the audience. Comedies are mostly light-hearted dramas and are made to amuse and entertain the audiences...
written and directed by Sarah Kernochan
Sarah Kernochan
Sarah Kernochan is a documentarian, film director, screenwriter and producer from the United States.After graduating in 1965 from Rosemary Hall , where she was a classmate of Glenn Close, and in 1968 from Sarah Lawrence College, she worked as a ghostwriter for The Village Voice for about a year...
. It stars Gaby Hoffmann
Gaby Hoffmann
Gabriella Mary "Gaby" Hoffmann is an American actress.-Birth:Hoffmann was born in New York City. Her mother, Viva , is an actress and writer and appeared in many of Andy Warhol's movies during the 1960s...
, Kirsten Dunst
Kirsten Dunst
Kirsten Caroline Dunst is an American actress, singer and model. She made her film debut in Oedipus Wrecks, a short film directed by Woody Allen for the anthology New York Stories...
, Monica Keena
Monica Keena
Monica C. Keena is an American actress, known for her roles as Abby Morgan on Dawson's Creek, Rachel Lindquist on the short-lived comedy Undeclared, Kristin on HBO's Entourage, and as Lori Campbell in Freddy vs. Jason....
, Heather Matarazzo
Heather Matarazzo
Heather Amy Matarazzo is an American actress. Her breakthrough role was as a geeky girl in the film Welcome to the Dollhouse . She played Lilly in The Princess Diaries and The Princess Diaries 2: Royal Engagement...
and Rachael Leigh Cook
Rachael Leigh Cook
Rachael Leigh Cook is an American actress, known for her role in the romantic comedy She's All That and her This is Your Brain on Drugs public service announcement.-Early life:...
as students of the fictional Miss Godard's Preparatory School
University-preparatory school
A university-preparatory school or college-preparatory school is a secondary school, usually private, designed to prepare students for a college or university education...
for Girls, and Lynn Redgrave
Lynn Redgrave
Lynn Rachel Redgrave, OBE was an English actress.A member of the well-known British family of actors, Redgrave trained in London before making her theatrical debut in 1962...
as the school's headmistress. The film takes place in 1963 and focuses on several students' plotting and sabotage of a proposed merger for the school to go coed.
The film's setting, in 1963, is based loosely on Kernochan's experiences at Rosemary Hall
Rosemary Hall (Greenwich, Connecticut)
Rosemary Hall was an independent girls school in Greenwich, Connecticut, in Fairfield County, Connecticut. It was later merged into Choate Rosemary Hall and moved to the Choate boys' school campus in Wallingford, in New Haven County, Connecticut....
around that time. Filming was done in Toronto, Ontario, Canada at the Trafalgar Castle School
Trafalgar Castle School
Trafalgar Castle School in Whitby, Ontario is a private day and residential school for girls and young women in grades 5 through 12, but available for boarding since grade 7...
in Whitby
Whitby, Ontario
Whitby is a town in Durham Region. Whitby is located in Southern Ontario east of Toronto on the north shore of Lake Ontario, and is home to the headquarters of Durham Region...
. The song "The Hairy Bird" plays during the film's end credits; it was written by Kernochan and sung by a group which includes Kernochan and five of her Rosemary Hall classmates, including Glenn Close
Glenn Close
Glenn Close is an American actress and singer of theatre and film, known for her roles as a femme fatale Glenn Close (born March 19, 1947) is an American actress and singer of theatre and film, known for her roles as a femme fatale Glenn Close (born March 19, 1947) is an American actress and...
.
Plot
The film takes place at an elite New EnglandNew England
New England is a region in the northeastern corner of the United States consisting of the six states of Maine, New Hampshire, Vermont, Massachusetts, Rhode Island, and Connecticut...
boarding school
Boarding school
A boarding school is a school where some or all pupils study and live during the school year with their fellow students and possibly teachers and/or administrators. The word 'boarding' is used in the sense of "bed and board," i.e., lodging and meals...
in the era between the Bay of Pigs Invasion
Bay of Pigs Invasion
The Bay of Pigs Invasion was an unsuccessful action by a CIA-trained force of Cuban exiles to invade southern Cuba, with support and encouragement from the US government, in an attempt to overthrow the Cuban government of Fidel Castro. The invasion was launched in April 1961, less than three months...
and the assassination of President John F. Kennedy
John F. Kennedy
John Fitzgerald "Jack" Kennedy , often referred to by his initials JFK, was the 35th President of the United States, serving from 1961 until his assassination in 1963....
. Odette 'Odie' Sinclair (Hoffman) is forcibly transferred by her parents to Miss Godard's Preparatory School for Girls after her parents find out that she has planned to have sex with her boyfriend, Dennis (Matthew Lawrence). Upon arrival to the school, which is run by the headstrong headmistress Miss McVane (Redgrave), Odette is introduced to her roommates, the intelligent and charismatic Verena von Stefan (Dunst) and the promiscuous Tinka Parker (Keena). Verena and Tinka are the school's primary troublemakers; both mock an uptight hall monitor named Abigail 'Abby' Sawyer (Cook), who has a penchant for tattle-taling, and Verena regularly buys cigarettes from a lunch cook and is constantly late for classes.
After a brief hazing
Hazing
Hazing is a term used to describe various ritual and other activities involving harassment, abuse or humiliation used as a way of initiating a person into a group....
period, Odie is welcomed into the D.A.R. (Daughters of the American Ravioli), a club of several girls at the school who have greater aspirations than those of their peers; the members congregate in the school's attic, where they have access to canned ravioli stored above the cafeteria. The club is led by Verena, and consists of several other girls, including Theresa 'Tweety' Goldberg (Matarazzo), a bulimic who self-induces vomiting by drinking ipecac syrup and plans to be a child psychologist; and Maureen 'Momo' Haines (Merritt Wever), a well-spoken science nerd and aspiring biologist. Verena has plans to start a fashion magazine like Vogue
Vogue (magazine)
Vogue is a fashion and lifestyle magazine that is published monthly in 18 national and one regional edition by Condé Nast.-History:In 1892 Arthur Turnure founded Vogue as a weekly publication in the United States. When he died in 1909, Condé Montrose Nast picked up the magazine and slowly began...
, while Tinka plans to be an "actress-folk singer-slut". Odette declares her interest in politics, but pines to finish what she started with Dennis and lose her virginity.
The D.A.R. begins planning a rendezvous for Odie and Dennis, but when it is discovered that Miss Godard's is considering going coed with the nearby St. Ambrose boys' academy, the girls become divided on the matter and ultimately the club breaks up, leaving Verena and Momo to plan a sabotage for an upcoming dance with the St. Ambrose boys. Meanwhile, the board of trustees for the school deliberates on the matter, which include Abby's parents. Miss McVane detests the merger, but can do little about it because of the school's financial problems.
As the St. Ambrose dance arrives, Verena and Momo concoct a plan to cast the boys' academy in a bad light, by spiking the fruit punch with alcohol from the chemistry
Chemistry
Chemistry is the science of matter, especially its chemical reactions, but also its composition, structure and properties. Chemistry is concerned with atoms and their interactions with other atoms, and particularly with the properties of chemical bonds....
lab and feeding them Tweety's ipecac to induce vomiting during their choir performance; Verena then plants empty liquor bottles in their school bus. The same night, Dennis arrives at the academy dressed in a St. Ambrose uniform and meets Odette for their rendezvous in the attic of the school.
Tweety and Tinka have a change of heart on the coed integration after Tweety is humiliated by one of the St. Ambrose students. With the help of a group of teenage male townies called "The Flat Critters", led by Snake (Kartheiser) who has a crush on Tinka, they end up sending the intoxicated St. Ambrose boys home with a poor reputation. Miss McVane recognizes Verena as the mastermind behind the sabotage. Despite Miss McVane's appreciation for Verena's efforts, she is forced to expel Verena for having been caught fraternizing in her undergarments with a St. Ambrose boy.
The following week at the end of the year ceremony, the announcement of the merger is made by Mrs. Sawyer, much to the disapproval of the girls, including Abby. The students, led by Odie, hole up inside the school dormitories and demand a student body vote count as a single vote on the board of trustees. Meanwhile, a media circus surrounds the school, and the board of trustees agree to a student vote. Ultimately, the votes against the integration outnumber those for it, and the students donate their personal savings to help with the school's debt.
In a humorous epilogue prior to the credits, the following is revealed: Verena goes on to publish Moi, one of the most-read women's publications in the world; Odette becomes a congresswoman and declares war on the tobacco industry
Tobacco industry
The tobacco industry comprises those persons and companies engaged in the growth, preparation for sale, shipment, advertisement, and distribution of tobacco and tobacco-related products. It is a global industry; tobacco can grow in any warm, moist environment, which means it can be farmed on all...
; Momo is a scientist developing the first male oral contraceptive; Tinka, a famous actress, ironically comes out to Barbara Walters
Barbara Walters
Barbara Jill Walters is an American broadcast journalist, author, and television personality. She has hosted morning television shows , the television newsmagazine , former co-anchor of the ABC Evening News, and current contributor to ABC News.Walters was first known as a popular TV morning news...
in a 1997 interview; Tweety became a psychologist and wrote a best-seller about bulimia; Abby, a radical political activist, is serving a prison sentence for a 1970 bank holdup; and Miss Godard's is still a girls school.
Cast
- Kirsten DunstKirsten DunstKirsten Caroline Dunst is an American actress, singer and model. She made her film debut in Oedipus Wrecks, a short film directed by Woody Allen for the anthology New York Stories...
as Verena von Stefan - Gaby HoffmannGaby HoffmannGabriella Mary "Gaby" Hoffmann is an American actress.-Birth:Hoffmann was born in New York City. Her mother, Viva , is an actress and writer and appeared in many of Andy Warhol's movies during the 1960s...
as Odette 'Odie' Sinclair - Lynn RedgraveLynn RedgraveLynn Rachel Redgrave, OBE was an English actress.A member of the well-known British family of actors, Redgrave trained in London before making her theatrical debut in 1962...
as Miss McVane - Rachael Leigh CookRachael Leigh CookRachael Leigh Cook is an American actress, known for her role in the romantic comedy She's All That and her This is Your Brain on Drugs public service announcement.-Early life:...
as Abigail 'Abby' Sawyer - Tom GuiryTom GuiryThomas John Guiry is an American actor.Guiry was born in Trenton, New Jersey and attended St. Gregory the Great school in Hamilton Township, Mercer County, New Jersey from kindergarten through eighth grade, and then high school at Notre Dame High School in Lawrenceville, New Jersey...
as Bradley 'Frosty' Frost - Vincent KartheiserVincent KartheiserVincent Paul Kartheiser is an American actor known for playing Connor in Angel and Pete Campbell in Mad Men.-Early life:Kartheiser was born in Minneapolis, Minnesota, the son of Janet Marie and James Ralph Kartheiser...
as Snake - Flat Critter - Monica KeenaMonica KeenaMonica C. Keena is an American actress, known for her roles as Abby Morgan on Dawson's Creek, Rachel Lindquist on the short-lived comedy Undeclared, Kristin on HBO's Entourage, and as Lori Campbell in Freddy vs. Jason....
as Tinka Parker - Matthew LawrenceMatthew LawrenceMatthew William Lawrence is an American actor known for his leading role in the movie Cheats with Trevor Fehrman and his role of Jack Hunter on the ABC sitcom Boy Meets World from 1997 to 2000, and his roles in movies such as The Hot Chick, The Comebacks, and Mrs...
as Dennis - Heather MatarazzoHeather MatarazzoHeather Amy Matarazzo is an American actress. Her breakthrough role was as a geeky girl in the film Welcome to the Dollhouse . She played Lilly in The Princess Diaries and The Princess Diaries 2: Royal Engagement...
as Theresa 'Tweety' Goldberg - Merritt WeverMerritt Wever-Early life:She graduated from Fiorello H. LaGuardia High School, and then Sarah Lawrence College. She trained in acting in New York and has appeared in Brooke Berman's play, Smashing and in Cavedweller with Deidre O'Connell, both Off Broadway.-Career:...
as Maureen 'Momo' Haines - Robert Bockstael as Mr. Frank Dewey
- Brenda Devine as Miss Phipps
- Rosemary DunsmoreRosemary DunsmoreRosemary Dunsmore is a Canadian TV, film and theatre, actress, born in 1953.She has starred in some well known Canadian productions, that include, The Campbells, Anne of Green Gables, Road to Avonlea and Murdoch Mysteries.-External links:...
as Page Sawyer - Nigel BennettNigel BennettNigel Bennett is an English actor/director/writer who has been based in Canada since 1986. He is best known for playing the vampire patriarch Lucien LaCroix in the TV series Forever Knight, for which he won the Canadian Gemini Award for best supporting actor in a dramatic series.-Life and...
as Harvey Sawyer - Jenny Parsons as Mrs. Dewey
- Dorothy Gordon as Mrs. O'Boyle
- Michael ReynoldsMichael ReynoldsMichael Reynolds may refer to:* Michael Curtis Reynolds, convicted American terrorist* Michael D. Reynolds , American astronomer* Michael Reynolds, Professor of Mathematics at McPherson College...
as Mr. Armstrong - Caterina ScorsoneCaterina ScorsoneCaterina Scorsone is a Canadian actress. She is best known for her role as Amelia Shepherd, sister of Derek Shepherd, on Private Practice and Grey's Anatomy and for her role as Alice Hamilton in Alice.-Early life:Scorsone was born in Toronto, Ontario. She is the middle child of five in her family...
as Susie - Michael BarryMichael BarryMichael Barry was a British television producer and executive, who was an important early influence on BBC television drama...
as Possum - Flat Critter - Zachary BennettZachary BennettZachary Bennett is a Canadian actor and musician in Toronto, Ontario, who is best known for playing Felix King in Road to Avonlea. He also co-starred in the 2006 TV film Jekyll + Hyde.He was born in London, Ontario...
as Skunk - Flat Critter - Aaron PooleAaron PooleAaron Poole is a Canadian actor. His credits include the films Killing Zelda Sparks, Adoration and This Beautiful City, and the television series Strange Days at Blake Holsey High and ZOS: Zone of Separation. He was nominated for Best Actor at the 29th Genie Awards for his performance in This...
as Beagle - Flat Critter - Danny SmithDanny Smith (actor, musician)Daniel Arthur "Danny" Smith is a Canadian actor and musician.-Life and career:Smith was born in Pickering, Ontario. After high school productions of Joseph and the Amazing Technicolor Dreamcoat , The Little Shop of Horrors , The Wizard of Oz and more, he began working at Stage West in...
as Groundhog - Flat Critter - Noah Shebib as Conrad Bateman
- Robin DunneRobin DunneRobin Dunne is a Canadian actor who is mainly known for having had numerous leading roles in sequels throughout his career, and lately for his role as Doctor Will Zimmerman in the cult Science fiction Television series, Sanctuary....
as Todd Winslow - Paul Nolan as Charles Schumacher
- Hayden ChristensenHayden ChristensenHayden Christensen is a Canadian actor. He appeared in Canadian television programs when he was young, then diversified into American television in the late 1990s. He moved on to minor acting roles before being praised for his role of Sam in Life as a House, for which he was nominated for a Golden...
as Tinka's date - Christopher Redmond as Danforth
- Shawn AshmoreShawn AshmoreShawn Robert Ashmore is a Canadian film and television actor, perhaps best known for his role as Jake in the Animorphs television series and Iceman in the X-Men films. He is the twin brother of actor Aaron Ashmore.-Early life:...
as St. Ambrose photographer - Jack DuffyJack DuffyJack Duffy was a Canadian singer, comedian and actor.-Biography:Born in Montreal, Duffy grew up in Toronto, dropping out of Central Technical School to become a singer...
as School Guard - Richard McMillan as Bert Chubb (St. Ambrose Boy Housemaster)
- Les Porter as Graham John (St. Ambrose Boy Choirmaster)
Production and release
The Hairy Bird was filmed in 1997 in Toronto, primarily at the Trafalgar Castle SchoolTrafalgar Castle School
Trafalgar Castle School in Whitby, Ontario is a private day and residential school for girls and young women in grades 5 through 12, but available for boarding since grade 7...
also at Loretto Abbey CSS (especially the chapel scenes), and was financed through Alliance Atlantis
Alliance Atlantis
Alliance Atlantis Communications Inc. was a Toronto-based media company that operated primarily as a specialty service operator in Canada. Alliance Atlantis also had offices in Halifax, Los Angeles, London, Dublin, Madrid, Barcelona, Shannon and Sydney.Alliance Atlantis was acquired by Canwest...
studios, a Canadian distribution company. The film was then picked up by Miramax and was given a limited release
Limited release
Limited release is a term in the American motion picture industry for a motion picture that is playing in a select few theaters across the country ....
in the United States in September 1998 under the title All I Wanna Do, because Miramax found the film's original title, The Hairy Bird (which alluded to male genitalia), to be too offensive. Likewise, the film was released in Canada under the title Strike!. The only country to release the film under its original title was Australia.
In March 2000, the film was re-released in New York City at the United Artists Union Square Theater where it grossed $5,383 in its single week of screenings. Several months later in the summer of that year, the film was released on video and DVD.
External links
- Official All I Wanna Do website
- Script for the film, in PDF formatPortable Document FormatPortable Document Format is an open standard for document exchange. This file format, created by Adobe Systems in 1993, is used for representing documents in a manner independent of application software, hardware, and operating systems....
, from the director's website - Lyrics and MP3 for the title song, also from the director's website
- Girls school rules, a May 2000 interview about the film from Salon.comSalon.comSalon.com, part of Salon Media Group , often just called Salon, is an online liberal magazine, with content updated each weekday. Salon was founded by David Talbot and launched on November 20, 1995. It was the internet's first online-only commercial publication. The magazine focuses on U.S...