How a small-budget raunchy golf comedy is trying to change the movie distribution model

WILMINGTON, N.C. — Sinking a hole-in-one is always against the odds. But at least credit the filmmakers behind the Wilmington-made comedy “Birdies” with swinging for the fences.

If that’s a bit of a mixed sports metaphor — and it is — consider it a tribute to the passionate and entertaining, if not always bright, characters who populate the independent movie.

After a sold-out premiere at this city’s Thalian Hall last month, “Birdies,” which was filmed in this coastal town during the depths of pandemic lockdown, debuted Feb. 22 on BirdiesTheMovie.com as a streaming-on-demand option.

Since, then, the film’s producers, some of whom double as the film’s actors, have been aggressively marketing “Birdies.” They’ve bought ads not only on billboards but also online, targeting social media sites like Facebook and Instagram and trying to appeal to golf enthusiasts who might want to watch a comedy about the drunken denizens of a down-on-its-luck golf course trying to recapture its former glory.

Instead of going the festival route or trying to get distribution through Amazon and other large streaming sites, which are both strategies often employed by independent filmmakers, the makers of “Birdies” have employed a direct-to-the-consumer approach.

It recalls a digital version of the “four-walling” of decades ago, when filmmakers would rent space in theaters across the country to ensure their movies were available to audiences.

“We’re trailblazers. We’re the future. Actually, the present,” said Jamie Lane, who’s a co-producer of “Birdies” and also plays its primary villain. “We don’t need Amazon. We’re doing it ourselves.”

The story of “Birdies” goes back a decade or more, when writer and co-director Troy Carlton first came up with the idea for the film. His first attempt was thwarted when the North Carolina General Assembly and then-Gov. Pat McCrory rolled back film incentives, causing many productions — and the local crew members who worked on them — to flow south into Georgia and Louisiana.

Once film production returned to North Carolina, Carlton decided to try again only to run up against the pandemic shutdown. This time, he decided to forge ahead, calling in favors and assembling a solid cast (led by the L.A.-based comic Ryan O’Flanagan and Wilmington’s own Sydney Penny) and professional crew to get the movie made “at a time when no one else was making movies,” Lane said. “This is a passion project.”

He wouldn’t reveal the film’s budget, but “microbudget” would be a fair description.

Three of the producers were also actors, he added: “I’d shoot my scene then grab a boom mic so we could shoot the reaction shots.”

“Birdies” certainly captures that spirit of camaraderie while also evoking other, off-the-wall golf movie comedies like “Happy Gilmore” and, the gold standard, “Caddyshack,” whose us-against-them storyline “Birdies” pays homage to.

Longtime Wilmington actor Zach Hanner plays Charlie Conroy, the owner of the run-down Twin Pines course, where day-drinking among the staff, including the jocular Nick (Nate Panning), starts early. (“Welcome to hell,” quips the club bartender Fred, played by Lily Nicole, one of several well-timed zingers).

The financial situation at Twin Pines is predictably dire. But when Charlie spots a potential new golf pro named Jake (O’Flanagan, in a funny and completely natural performance) who could help Twin Pines prevail at a tournament of rival clubs.

It all builds to a showdown with the most annoying of those clubs, whose mercenary owner (Richard Wentz) has his eye on shutting down Twin Pines. The only problem is, Jake’s girlfriend, played by Aerli Austen, won’t be intimate with him until he quits golf, which she associates with his past indiscretions.

There are plenty of laughs along the way, with the drunken ineptness of much of the Twin Pines crew both serving as the butt of jokes while also giving the audience someone to root for once the tables start to turn.

“We know we have a great product,” Lane said, which is why he and his co-producers thought they’d be better off skipping the festival circuit, which isn’t traditionally kind to comedies, and trying to get “Birdies” out on their own.

Thalian Hall in Wilmington, N.C., hosted a sold-out premiere of the comedy. (Photo by Matt Born/Wilmington StarNews/USA Today Network)

Early results have been promising, Lane said, with about $2 in sales for every marketing dollar they spend. He said if they can recoup their production budget, he’ll consider it a win.

Next up is an online push targeting fans of The Masters, which tees off April 7. Long-term, Lane said, the goal is to help bolster the independent film infrastructure in Wilmington, a campaign that’s also been taken up by such local production companies as Honey Head Films.

Also on the horizon, Lane said, is a second serving of Wilmington golf comedy: “Birdies 2: Double Bogey” is in the works.

Contact John Staton at 910-343-2343 or John.Staton@StarNewsOnline.com.