Songbird Parent Guide
To capitalize on people's suffering by releasing this kind of trash is monumentally tasteless.
Parent Movie Review
The year is 2024, and COVID-19 has mutated several times: it is now airborne and usually fatal within 48 hours. The US government has authorized extreme military measures, including aggressive checkpoints, lockdowns, and detainment camps for the infected. Life is slightly different for those with a detectable immunity, as they are given yellow bracelets and allowed outside. Nico (K.J. Apa) is lucky enough to be immune, but his girlfriend Sara (Sofia Carson) is not – and with cases spreading through her apartment building, time is running out for Nico to find a way to get her to safety without winding up in a detention camp.
My first reaction to this film is incredulity. What would possess anyone to make something in such remarkably poor taste? It’s like making a movie about 9/11 between the collapse of the north and south towers. At the time of Songbird’s release, we are enduring the worst phase of the COVID-19 pandemic, with thousands dying every day. To capitalize on people’s suffering by releasing this kind of trash is monumentally tasteless. It also adds to the psychological burdens we’re managing – we are enduring unusual levels of stress and marketing paranoia and anxiety as entertainment is offensive. Suggesting that we are still going to be in lockdown in three years is irresponsible: the coronavirus has already spawned weird conspiracy theories about the virus and government regulations. Making a movie that breeds even weirder ideas is staggeringly reckless.
If the crassness of the film isn’t enough, let me point out that it’s also dreadful. Like, downright stupid. Unsurprisingly, when you rush production, you get garbage for screenplay, and no matter how many recognizable actors you cram into it, it’s still garbage. Sprinkling glitter on a dead horse doesn’t give you a unicorn: just a sparkly, smelly mess. Increasing the stench is the movie’s headache-inducing editing, which only adds more reasons to avoid this trash like…well, the plague.
Songbird scores a PG-13 rating, but still provides a lot of moderate profanity and some violence. What surprised me was the scene that packed adultery and prostitution all into one – inadvisable during a pandemic, unsavory at any time. Look, I know we’re all a little starved for entertainment at the moment. The Netflix catalogue is starting to wear thin, and with theaters still shuttered or not recommended, the viewing options are sub-optimal. But this is not even the bottom of the barrel, this is the floor underneath. Put bluntly, it sucks. Aggressively. Given the choice, I wouldn’t watch this movie if you put a gun to my head.
Directed by Adam Mason. Starring K J Apa Sofia Carson, Craig Robinson. Running time: 84 minutes. Theatrical release December 10, 2020. Updated February 26, 2021
Songbird
Rating & Content Info
Why is Songbird rated PG-13? Songbird is rated PG-13 by the MPAA for violence including some bloody images, sexual material, partial nudity and some strong language
Violence: Several people are shot and killed. A woman is shown dying from the virus. A woman is choked and threatened with death. Two characters are stabbed.
Sexual Content: A character is shown engaging in prostitution, although she stays partially clothed throughout. There is a scene depicting adultery.
Profanity: There is one use of a sexual expletive, 14 uses of scatological cursing, and occasional terms of deity.
Alcohol / Drug Use: An adult character is shown smoking.
Page last updated February 26, 2021
Songbird Parents' Guide
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Home Video
The most recent home video release of Songbird movie is December 10, 2020. Here are some details…
Related home video titles:
Songbird is one of the first movies filmed during the pandemic but it isn’t the only one. Also filmed during the Covid-19 pandemic is Love In Dangerous Times, a love story made using socially distanced practices.
The US government’s handling of the coronavirus is examined in the documentary Totally Under Control.
Only sees a world afflicted by a lethal virus which only affects women and Light of My Life concerns the fallout of another female-only plague. Matt Damon stars in Contagion, which focuses on an elite CDC team trying to fight a dangerous virus.
Many zombie movies are based on pandemics, like I Am Legend, World War Z, and The Crazies. Totally Under Control is a documentary about the US Government’s response to the coronavirus pandemic.