Rating: 
Summary: Film Is Great but Photo on Box Misleads
Review: The photo on the box indicates that this is a movie about a man and a woman, probably sexual or romantic in orientation. The woman (Kathleen Quinlan in a minor role) is actually the mother of the movie's female lead, a ten year old girl, played by Mischa Barton as Devon. Her family is rich but obnoxious as is her whole gated subdivision. She desperately needs a friend and makes one with Trent (Sam Rockwell), who is one of the guys who cuts the grass in her subdivision. He lives in a trailer on the wrong side of the tracks. Trent and Devon's developing friendship is the arc of the film. That friendship takes unexpected turns, some magical realistic in nature. Devon's ability to make personal sacrifices in order to protect her one and only friend increasingly come into play as the film advances too. Excellent film.
Rating:
Summary: So many layers. Not fully appreciated when only seen once.
Review: This movie is simply breath-taking. A little different than most tales of suburbia and the corruption that lies underneath, but beautiful performances by the cast create multi-demnesional characters that exist in every community. I recommend this movie to anyone.
Rating: 
Summary: Dark, engrossing, rewarding
Review: There seems to be no middle ground of opinion about Lawn Dogs. Critics, as well as the few people who saw it in theaters, either praised it or trashed it. It is an allegory told in a dark fairy tales style. It's story is many-layered, the director is uncompromising, and the audience is given no slack. Misha Barton plays Devon Stockard, a lonely ten-year old child, whose parents have recently moved into a gated community of pretentious, lifeless homes. She is recovering from open heart surgery, and this trauma has instilled in her a fascination with morbid topics. In this neighborhood, the lawns are relentlessly manicured, as if the residents were keeping all that is natural in comtrol. 21-year old Trent [Sam Rockwell] cuts the Stockard's grass, seemingly two or three times a week. Viewed by the residents as some sort of half-tamed beast, he is warned by a security guard never to stay past five in the afternoon without first "checking" with him. Devon and Trent form an unlikely friendship, one that most be kept secret from her parents and her neighbors. Trent is well aware of the hostile, paranoid attitudes of his clients. Here begins the sometimes funny, but often dark tale. The two are misfits in a society which itself is dangerous and suspect. We root for Devon and Trent to escape this world, and, in part, they do. There is a sexual tension between these characters, which will make some viewers uncomfortable, even though it is never acted upon. The film's merely hints at cross-generational attraction, but this alone removes it from the commercial mainstream. Lawn Dogs can be difficult to accept at times. It is thought provoking enough to give the average viewer a headache. Things happen to the main characters that we don't like. All of the supporting characters are so creepy we wish we'd never met them. Still, those who can tolerate all this will be rewarded by one of the most magical and lyrical endings ever filmed. Sam Rockwell gives an excellent performance in a truly difficult role. Misha Barton is extraordinary in one of the best acting jobs by a juvenile I have ever seen. Not since Jodie Foster in Taxi Driver have I watched a youngster master material which would be unfathomable to her contemporaries. Barton promises to be around for many years.
Rating:
Summary: innuendo-lolita
Review: actually if you watch this film with lolita in mind, you would miss a great film. However if you do not care about the total beauty of the film, then you will feel the intensity of a precocious 11 year old straddling the adult world and her own childhood. Barton is magical for sure, her voice intonation, as well as the drawl of Rockwell, really makes film. A person could study this film/story for an english lit/poetry class, and really delve into what the directors were saying with barton and rockwell chracterizations. They pulled it off, because my heart was racing, and it was a little embarassing, because I knew I was falling for this 11 year old girl... It would have fit perfectly with the way the sun flickers between the trees.
Panties, mooning, urinating on a truck, spending the night, "now let me see yours" talk about symbolism. It's funny but Rockwell reminded me of me, going to a predominantly white school to play basketball, knowing that none of the women would ever stay with me unless I went pro. I would never "meet the parents" - so to speak. I want to see more legitimate filmakers cross that lolita line with great acting that draws you in with the story, rather than our own imagination. Bartons eye were so innocent but, as captivating as Julia Roberts'. Bartons also in Knotting Hill with Julia Roberts. I would like to see good films that titillate, and gives a "tingling feeling" all over. Very good highly recommend for a teaching tool for college level courses.
Rating:
Summary: Superb acting by Barton.
Review: The portrayal of an American suburban neighborhood on this film is somewhat similar to American Beauty, with its dark sarcastic tone. The remarkable part about this film is the acting by child actress Barton. It's quite hard to please the audience with a child actor these days. All kids end up sounding like Malcolm in the Middle.
Rating:
Summary: A mind-altering film
Review: For heaven's sake, don't read further reviews below this one if you don't like spoilers, that's the drawback to these public review areas, people tell too much. This is a great DVD to just buy and watch without a prior clue. Anyway, first let me say I gave this four stars instead of five only out of annoyance at the blatant Marxist messages, which for me detract from the enjoyment of the film. Yes, Ms. screenplay writer, we all know that the financially successful are sadistic scoundrels (I've made it by scrimping and saving and investing for years, so I must be a d___head by now, right?), and those who are living paycheck-to-paycheck are noble heroes, hopelessly trapped beneath the heartless capitalists' doberman paws...*not*! But such a memorable film, excellent casting. I can't imagine any pair pulling this off like Sam Rockwell and Mischa Barton. Barton, I think it was Roger Ebert who said, must have fifty different faces in her reportoire. Apart from her standout acting, her appearance is captivating; her face looks almost like an anime cartoon face transformed into real life (but it probably made the screenwriter's teeth grind that commercial realities made it advantageous to cast Mischa Barton and Angie Harmon instead of plain-looking actresses...sorry, that will be my last rant). Mischa alone makes it worth buying a DVD player. This is one of those films where the characters are so well cast you can't imagine the roles having been done by anyone else. The script is (with one exception that will become obvious as you're watching the movie) deliciously unpredictable. This film has fantasy elements that no doubt appeal to both sexes; I imagine many women would love to be Pam or Devon, having or having the company of an attractive and gold-hearted Trent, alone and all to themselves. And as a male I certainly admit that Devon makes me think of being ten again and having a crush that actually goes a bit beyond mere dreaming. Or of being 25 and having an adorable, amazingly-mature-for-her-age young girl become fascinated with me and developing a delightful friendship that also has a mild, innocent, unspoken sexual undertone. I feel sure there are few males who watch this movie who don't feel the same way, but in our sexually uptight culture you can't say it non-anonymously without arousing shouts of ["..."] So sad. If you enjoy creative films, this is one to buy and treasure. Be sure to get it on DVD, the difference in price between VHS and DVD will pay for a good part of the DVD player if you don't yet have one.
Rating:
Summary: Perfection.
Review: It's a shame that this movie didn't get a wider release. This movie is absolutely flawless. The acting, script, cinematography, everything just absolutely flawless. It's a movie you can watch over and over. I highly suggest that everyone either buy the DVD or try to get your hands on the Video. I can't begin to tell you how good the performances were in this. GET IT NOW!!!
Rating:
Summary: Powerfully written and beautiful drama
Review: Unlike many bad film scripts, this film is so well written that I've gone back to see it many times. The directing and acting is superb but what makes this masterpiece extradinary is the brilliant portrayal of class conflict in America. US culture denies it's even a class society. In this film, Trent's friendship with a girl from the upper class brings out all the hostility and brutality of the rich that is a part of everyday life in America. See this film. It gives new life to the term 'challenging, political cinema.'
Rating:
Summary: Unknown Wonder!
Review: Having been recommended this film by numerous friends, I broke down and saw it. I was astonished that I had not heard alot of hype about it, because its that good. Buy it!
Rating:
Summary: Great acting, haunting story...
Review: "Lawn Dogs" is a beautiful story of companionship and the bond formed between two misfits who don't exactly fit it with where they are expected to. Revolving around the Russian fairy tale of Baba Yaga (girl trapped by an evil witch who is rescued by her prince only to have to run away to escape Baba Yaga's wrath) much in the way "The Sweet Hereafter" mirrored the story of the Pied Piper of Hamlin, the story follows these two friends/first loves?/confidantes (Mischa Barton and Sam Rockwell) as she follows her own and ignores the ignorance of her parents and he becomes more and more isolated from the town he lives in. Mischa Barton is wonderful as a girl who believes in magic and is able to weave a little of her own. She is an "old soul" who knows better than to believe what everyone else thinks and knows to go her own way and make her own decisions. In the end, when she takes matters into her own hands, she has achieved the wisdom and knowledge that most people dream of and never reach. Sam Rockwell is also great as her companion who first doesn't know what to expect from this young girl who acts as though she should be his mother. In fact, she is the only one who looks out for him, and as their relationship becomes more and more intimate though never obscene and always beautiful, the tragic occurs, and she must save him from the wrath of "Baba Yaga." The ending is spectacular as Mischa's character displays all her magical talents. She is the star of this film, and I expect to see much more from her (her small part in "The Sixth Sense" was great) in the future. In the same vein as Martha Plimpton's "Eye of God" and Nastassja Kinski's "Little Boy Blue," you can expect the tragic from "Lawn Dogs," but it is also beautiful, moving, and transcendant.
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