Lawn Dogs the Movie Starring Mischa Barton

Cast of Characters:
Mischa Barton as Devon Stockard
Sam Rockwell as Trent
Kathleen Quinlan as Clare Stockard
Christopher McDonald as Morton Stockard
Bruce McGill as Nash
Miles Meehan as Billy
Angie Harmon as Pam
José Orlando Araque as Mailman
Eric Mabius as Sean
David Barry Gray as Brett
Tom Aldredge as Trent's Father
Beth Grant as Trent's Mother
Tafeki and Odin as Tracker

Trivia:
Sam Rockwell, Bruce McGill and Beth Grant all starred together in the 2003 film, "Matchstick Men"
Lawn Dogs was filmed in Louisville and Danville, Kentucky.

When I first saw this movie it was, at least for me, one of those you instantly like. I can honestly say that even after years of not seeing Lawn Dogs again I remembered the story even when I forget the movie's title. Lawn Dogs is one of those movies that you'll rarely, if ever, see on television and that's what adds to it being a 'gem' of sorts concerning movies everyone should see at least once. Many parts of it are very similar, especially with Trent and his parents, to the lives of Americans still in this day and age. Even down to being an outsider to those more financially well off than him, his mother and his father, a veteran, having been screwed over by the government.

Another thing that makes this movie good is the simplicity of Trent's life and yet his life is not as simple as it appears to be on the surface. The difference of his social class from others, brought on by his financial situation, becomes even more apparent after he enters the gates of Camelot Gardens to put in a day's work for low income. Then there's Devon who feels the community she's in is more like a prison where her parents look to be fine, upstanding citizens who are anything but. Add that to the fact she doesn't really identify with kids her age because they, "smell like television" only breeds more of her dislike of the confinement in the gated community. Both Devon and Trent have a sort of resentment towards how their lives are and that, in my opinion, is what makes their characters similar in the beginning. But it's their natural drive for the freedom, very much alive in the both of them, that makes Devon and Trent not only similar to eachother but to some who watch this great movie will feel like they're similar to themselves.