Kids today: Part 1

A BIRDER'S GUIDE TO EVERYTHING (B) -  This sweet tale of nerdy birdwatching teens in the Northeast nicely captures the cadences of adolescence.

Newcomers Rob Meyer (who directed) and Luke Matheny show an ear for the interplay between kids at the margins, here the three-person (and dwindling) birdwatching club at the local high school. David (Kodi Smit-McPhee) is still sorting through the death of his mother a year earlier after a long illness (and literally sorting through her stuff) and the fact that his father, Donald (James Le Gros), is about to marry the mom's home-care nurse, sexy Juliana (Daniela Lavender).

On the eve of the wedding, David and his mates set out in pursuit of a mallard duck that David recently spotted, a bird that is thought to be extinct. They kind of steal pal Timmy's cousin's car. (Meyer and Matheny have fun with a side story about the presence in the backseat of a substance that is probably rock candy but is feared to be a stash of drugs.) Timmy (Alex Wolff, "In Treatment") is the wise guy of the group, the braggart, insufferably intent on getting laid. Peter (Michael Chen) is the organizer (their meetings, and even some of their casual interactions, adhere quaintly to Robert's Rules of Order) and resident asthmatic. They are accompanied on their adventure by Ellen (Katie Chang, "The Bling Ring"), a photography student who has access to a decent lens. Ellen is crushy on David, though Timmy tries to work his charms on her. (Unfortunately, Chang is the weak link here; she plays it understated and dull, as if consciously trying to be the opposite of her "Bling Ring" baddie. She comes off here as Ellen Page stripped of personality.)

Smit-McPhee has the cartoonish doe-eyed, puffy-lipped cuteness of a Leif Garrett, while Wolff has the throwback cockiness of the trash-talking Mike Damone from "Fast Times at Ridgemont High." Those whiffs of nostalgia are almost certainly intentional; the filmmakers seem to paying homage to such treasured teen films as "Stand by Me" and "Meatballs," along with perhaps a dash of retro Wes Anderson.

Not everything fully works here. A plot device that requires David to race back to make the wedding is poorly developed. But Smit-McPhee and Le Gros ("Ally McBeal" and the recent "Night Moves") nail the awkwardness between father and son and the elephant in the room. Ben Kingsley has an extended cameo as a local birding expert (who knew David's mom, a published authority in the field, as well) who both advises the kids and competes with them in pursuit of the rare bird. (A scene with another pair of rivals allows the writers to pen some funny bird banter that goes beyond nerdy.)

The filmmakers work within the Disneyfied format to find depth and charm among the teens, and the banter is sharp and winning (and rife with inside baseball). Here's sample dialogue:

ELLEN: I still don't get why you it's called Project Anus.
TIMMY: It's A-nas. ... It's Latin for duck.
ELLEN: You guys speak Latin?
TIMMY: Yeah. (Catching himself) Sometimes.

"A Birder's Guide" is a perfect lightweight summer adventure, a fine bonding story and a welcome break from cynicism and cell phones and superheroes.

BONUS TRACK 
A bird reference is an excuse for the random video of the day, from the band Buffalo Tom: