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Geek Vibes Nation
3 days ago
- Entertainment
- Geek Vibes Nation
‘Bird In Hand' Review - An Honest Look At Family And The Struggle To Embrace Your Identity
Identity feels like something that should be simple. It is just who you are, right? Well, yes and no. It is that, but definitions are difficult and involve complex levels of context provided by life experience, racial history, familial history, and a certain amount of unknowable information that we only sometimes have awareness of at different points in our lives. The gaps in our identities are likely the most interesting; otherwise, what is the living of our moment-to-moment experience even for? The living, no matter how messy, will help inform where we go next and how we deal with it. Bird in Hand, from first-time director Melody C. Roscher, explores this, and much more, under the guise of a familial dramedy. Bird (Alisha Wainwright), a biracial woman, has returned to her family's home in the country, ostensibly because she is engaged to be married to her boyfriend, Frank. This leads her to her mother, Carlotta (Christine Lahti), with whom she has a strained relationship, and her stepfather, Dale (Jeffrey Nordling). As their relationship is explored, they also make connections with their neighbors Dennis (James Le Gros) and Leigh (Annabelle Dexter-Jones), a white married couple who have purchased a plantation home, but don't worry, they are 'updating the narrative.' Wainwright has easily the most difficult task in the film. Roscher, also the screenwriter, is much more consumed with making Bird a real person rather than focusing on pure likability. This is not to say that she is unlikable per se, simply that she is an actual human being with flaws, some of her own making and some due to family history. Even through her issues, Bird's ache for care, consideration, and answers to the questions that she is afraid to ask all comes through clearly and in a manner that makes us root for her. Her search for a possible meeting with her birth father, Bower (K. Todd Freeman), with the excuse of hiring him as musical entertainment for her wedding, offers her the challenge of acting with nothing but her talent and a screen featuring an advertisement for his band. The fact that Wainwright manages a gamut of emotions, including longing, worry, desperation, and frustration, all in the space of a few moments, is a testament to both her obvious talent and Roscher's well-placed trust in her abilities. From the beginning, which features a fight between Bird and Frank in which she is dressed as a bleeding bride for a Halloween party, Roscher handles difficult themes with aplomb. Bird's reaction when being pseudo-proposed to (shock, confusion) may seem odd at this moment, but the script allows this moment to come full circle without ever holding your hand. When Carlotta is dismissive about her upcoming nuptials, we quickly find out that marriage, along with most expected life events, are frowned upon, both due to her 'woo-woo' ideals and her difficult history with Bower leaving her after she became pregnant with Bird. Although there is a massive amount of drama involved, the dark comedy that comes to the forefront almost immediately makes Bird in Hand a mostly easy watch. Yes, families are difficult and emotions are complex. But when you have Christine Lahti almost stealing a horse and white people asking a biracial young woman to pose for pictures in front of a plantation, there are plenty of opportunities for moments of levity that are taken advantage of by Roscher. Some moments feel a bit too much on the side of comedy, but these are brief before we return to Alisha Wainwright's astounding performance of a complex woman. But, like everything in life, nothing is truly simple. Is Bower cruel? Is Carlotta willfully misleading her daughter? Is Bird selfish? Are Carlotta and Dale a loving couple? Are Dennis and Leigh well-meaning white folks? These are all questions that have answers. The problem is that this all depends, not only on who you ask, but when you ask, as the answers, like identity, are constantly in a state of flux. We are all simply doing our best and reacting to the latest information we have. As we age, it becomes important to see our parents as real human beings, but there is maybe nothing harder to achieve. As sons and daughters, we want to be taken care of one moment, and we want a strong reaction the next. When Bird screams at her mother to 'stop being comfortable,' it rocks you to your core. If we are going through emotional trauma, what could be more difficult than a calm person who we know is imperfect and roiling with emotions under the surface? That is, until those emotions come and we have to deal with them. Roscher bravely denies us any easy answers and lays a real, difficult, fractured relationship at our feet, daring us to pick up the pieces. Bird In Hand held its World Premiere as a part of the U.S. Narrative Competition section of the 2025 Tribeca Festival. Director: Melody C. Roscher Screenwriter: Melody C. Roscher Rated: NR Runtime: 87m
Daily Mail
25-05-2025
- Politics
- Daily Mail
EXCLUSIVE Beware Meghan Markle's kiss of death! Political insiders' intriguing warning to Kamala Harris as she prepares for comeback
When former President Joe Biden selected Kamala Harris as his running mate in August 2020, congratulations winged their way from Montecito. 'I'm so excited to see that kind of representation,' the Duchess of Sussex said in an interview from her Southern California garden. 'You know, for me, being biracial, growing up, whether it was a doll or a person in office, you need to see someone who looks like you in some capacity.'
Daily Mail
22-05-2025
- Entertainment
- Daily Mail
'Hypocrite' Ryan Clark reveals biracial daughter after ripping Robert Griffin III's marriage to a white woman
Ryan Clark is being blasted as a 'hypocrite' for questioning Robert Griffin III's racially mixed marriage after the ESPN host and former Pittsburgh Steelers safety stunned followers by revealing his own biracial daughter on social media. 'I didn't know this was news, but since other people want to talk about her… This is my first born Jaden,' Clark wrote on X alongside photos from across his college-age daughter's life. 'My God she's beautiful. All of her!' By itself, Clark's post wouldn't have caused an uproar. But after facing accusations of racism for attacking Griffin's credibility over his marriage to a white woman, Clark is now being hammered for his perceived hypocrisy as well. 'I got called out for being a racist jerk, which I absolutely am, so here are some pictures of my biracial daughter,' one critic wrote on X, offering a summary of Clark's position. Another critic asked Clark a question about his daughter: 'Is she allowed to have opinions about blackness or do we have to wait and see whom she marries first?' 'I hope she never finds out how much you hate half of her,' one X user added. Both African-American former NFL stars, Clark and Griffin actually played together in Washington briefly before becoming coworkers at ESPN, where Griffin was fired and replaced by Jason Kelce in 2024. Despite their shared history, Clark ignited a feud with Griffin earlier this week by dismissing his criticism of African-American Chicago Sky star Angel Reese because of the ex-quarterback's mixed marriage. Reese and white WNBA rival Caitlin Clark clashed during the season-opener, with Griffin III accusing the Sky power forward of 'hate'. That sparked a controversial response from Clark, who claimed Griffin 'is not having conversations at his home about what black women have to endure in this country.' 'You haven't been able to do that because in both of your marriages you've been married to white women,' Clark said on his podcast Monday. Clark's attacks continued against Griffin, who is married to Estonian heptathlete Grete Griffin. 'When I worked with RGIII, he would make all of these sort of corny jokes about milk and how much he loved it and how important it was and he always points out on social media the color of his wife's skin, as if the color of her skin is what makes her special, as if the color of her skin is what makes her a good wife,' Clark said on his podcast Monday. 'I've met the lady,' Clark added. 'I've had a conversation with her. I think she's more than that, but it also leads to what black women deal with a lot from black men, who have chosen to date or marry outside of their race.' The 35-year-old responded to Clark with an angry post on Monday night. He called out Clark for 'personally attacking me and my family' in a lengthy statement on X. 'There's a line you don't cross in life and Ryan Clark sprinted past it. 'Ryan Clark didn't like my take on Angel Reese hating Caitlin Clark. That's fine. Disagreement is part of the game. But instead of debating my point, he personally attacked me and my family. That shows how low of person he is. It did not end there, however, with Clark replying: 'Bruh you know what it is with me and you! I saved you the entire season on MNF. I urged people to let you be you. No matter how corny, how bad a teammate you were I had your back. 'What did you do? Invite someone on your show you know I don't fool with to ask questions about me, and then hit me weeks later to tell me you're gonna challenge one of my takes! 'You're a phony bro. One of the worst teammates I ever had both on the field and in TV. You gotta do what you gotta do. I didn't attack your wife. I spoke on what you do on social media and TV. Like I said. I met your wife and she seemed like a lovely lady that was worth more than the color of her skin! You be good bruh.' Clark's tirade didn't stop the accusations of racism, and on Wednesday, he shared pictures of Jaden from infancy to more recent photos. 'Maybe, the news in light of this week is that she's biracial,' Clark wrote Wednesday on X. 'So? She is a perfect part of my God given experience, & the sum of those experiences make me who I am!' To many, though, Clark is either a hypocrite, racist or both. 'You cannot have a child without a mother,' one commenter wrote. 'Don't skip how great and crucial her white mother has been in both your lives. Don't dismiss that part when celebrating your daughter. Then you might see the humanity in RG3 wife and family also.' Jaden's own Instagram account includes pictures of her 2023 graduation from the University of San Francisco, where both her white and black relatives appeared to be on hand, as well as some more risqué shots. In response to one shot of Jaden in a short dress, Clark wrote: 'Where your clothes bruh?' While Clark identified his daughter as biracial, Jaden did tag her graduation shots with: '#blackgirlmagic.'
