***Great plot, cast & locations, but problematic execution***

An athletic 21 year-old groundskeeper (Sam Rockwell) lives in a ramshackle trailer in the woods near a gated community and mows the lawns of its wealthy but morally bankrupt occupants. A perceptive 10 year-old girl (Mischa Barton) is drawn to his genuineness because she discerns the hypocrisy of her parents (Christopher McDonald & Kathleen Quinlan) and the fakeness of her new community. But can an unconventional friendship like this last in such a scenario? Bruce McGill plays the security guy at the complex.

"Lawn Dogs" (1997) is a drama with a satirical edge that has everything necessary for a great movie, but then fumbles a bit in execution. For instance, the key sequences where Trent (Rockwell) and Devon (Mischa) start to develop a friendship feel forced. The script needed tweaked with maybe some ad-libbing, but SOMETHING needed done to make these important scenes work better. As it is they’re at best serviceable and at worst unconvincing.

If you can get past that serious flaw (and a couple cavils), there’s a lot of good here, even a little greatness. One critic denounced the film on the grounds that it didn’t know what its message was. Really? It has three main points and they come across loud and clear, but I’m not going to give ’em away and spoil it for viewers.

The movie runs 1 hour, 41 minutes, and was shot in Prospect, Kentucky, and the surrounding area (just northeast of Louisville, by the Ohio River).

GRADE: B-