Paulie is a road movie about a bird. A green-and-blue conure parrot, Paulie is found by lonely émigré janitor Misha--padlocked in an old cage in the littered basement of a research institute, where he tells Misha his life story. It began with 5-year-old Marie, the love of his life, and his heartbreaking separation from her. In search of Marie, Paulie has traveled from New Jersey to Los Angeles. Along the way he's spent time in a pawn shop; driven in a Winnebago with Ivy; been in a parrot mariachi band at an East L.A. taco stand; and unwittingly turned to crime with small-time thief Benny, winding up a prisoner in the basement. Paulie's story strikes a chord with Misha, who vows to help him find Marie.