Lawn Dogs

Unlikely friendships are really likely as all getout in littler movies today. There's Harolds and Maudes all over Indieland! Thankfully, John Duigan's Lawn Dogs adds to their ranks with small doses of thoughtful grace. Devon's a heady, ten-year-old girl living in one of those affluent midwestern neighborhoods so charmingly surrounded by a ten foot wall. Trent's the "trailer trash" who's twice her age and cuts her lawn. The girl is bored silly with the square (and cartoonish) hypocrisy of the rich around her, and forges her way into Trent's life. Can such a friendship survive society? After all, they share the same penchant for...public urination? Just when I thought it was safe to yawn, a curious moment would rear its head and the understated performances of Sam Rockwell and Miseha Barton kept me caring. Optional. (K. Allison)