Downtown Owl
2023
Action / Comedy / Drama

Downtown Owl
2023
Action / Comedy / Drama
Plot summary
In 1983 Owl, North Dakota, the lives of three residents – elderly Horace, who spends his afternoons reminiscing in the local coffee shop; teenage Mitch, depressed backup quarterback star player-power-horse; and newly appointed high school English teacher Julia – along with those of the town's other residents, are upended by a historic whiteout blizzard.
Director
Top cast
Tech specs
720p.WEB 1080p.WEB 2160p.WEB.x265Movie Reviews
A Missed Opportunity, but Lily Rabe Deserves More Recognition
quirky
It's 1983. New teacher Julia Rabia (Lily Rabe) arrives in the tiny town of Owl, North Dakota. She is befriended by talkative fellow teacher Naomi (Vanessa Hudgens) who brings her to the local bar. She falls for bison farmer Vance Druid (Henry Golding). She is befriended by longtime resident Horace Jones (Ed Harris). There is an inappropriate teacher-student relationship and a surprise snowstorm.
I really like Lily Rabe. More and more, she reminds me of her mother. They have the same style and comedic tones. I like almost everybody here although a couple of them are trying too hard. It's quirky middle America. The story is too scattered. The main plot should be the underaged student affair. Julia should have more time with the quarterback and get more involved with that subplot. As for the snowstorm, it seems rather anti-climatic and a bit of a fake-out. I like this cast but the story needs work.
Pointless and Stupid
If you're going to have the storm of the century don't show characters walking in the snow afterwards when it doesn't even come up to the bottom of their boots. Just one example of the pointless stupidity of this movie. Another is a football team in the locker room with about five players. It goes on and on.
Hardly anyone in the movie seems remotely real. And despite their efforts you would have a hard time caring about what happens to any of them. At the end of the movie when the newspaper shows that one of them dies, you will probably go, "Huh, who cares," and go directly to IMDB to give it a poor review.