Viewers walking in to Chicken People expecting a real life version of Best in Show will be either disappointed or pleasantly surprised. I was the latter. That's not to say the movie does not have its fair share of big laughs, as it is about people who breed chickens and enter them into competitions. But there's a surprisingly tender side too. Director Nicole Lucas Haimes has genuine empathy for her subjects and by the end, so do we.
The movie focuses on three people in different parts of the country for which chickens are a true obsession. After meeting each of them, it becomes clear that chicken breeding is a way to cover deep internal wounds. In the case of the two men, both named Brian, their passion is a mask for them to cope with loneliness. For Shari, a housewife and mother, the obsession developed to overcome alcoholism. We spend equal time with each as they prepare their chickens for the upcoming Ohio National Poultry Show, learning about their breeding techniques, competition requirements, and what types of chickens they love the best. This proves to be surprisingly interesting since they each have completely different approaches to breeding, and their methods seem to stem out of their individual personalities.
We get a lot of insight about who they are and the key relationships in their lives, which adds an extra dimension to the movie I was not expecting. By the time Chicken People reaches its climax at the competition (in Knoxville, TN instead of Ohio due to a breakout of Avian Flu), I was rooting for all three of these people. Haimes has effectively gotten us acquainted with them to the degree that we know how much a win will mean, and how much a loss will sting. We walk out of the theater hoping they will each continue to perfect their chickens and that a future of victories lie ahead.
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