MovieChat Forums > Lawn Dogs (1998) Discussion > Just too unrealistic for me...

Just too unrealistic for me...

posted 20 years ago by Superunknovvn
13 replies | jump to latest

This movie is a fairy tale for grown ups.

Kids are never as mature as Devon. Grown ups who are willing to spend so much time with kids they are not related to usually are perverts or they're too clever to get themselves into trouble like that.

I know, these two senteces will get me the hate of anybody who loved the movie. You don't have to agree with me.

One thing is just really too unrealistic: the ending. I'm talking about Devon taking the gun, shooting Sean, then threatening her father and commanding him and the Sherrif around. That's just ridiculous. Two grown men can easily subdue a little girl. A kid is not going to hold a gun to her father's head. A kid can't aim like that from so far away. And what about the recoil of the gun?

The movie tried hard but just wasn't genuinely dramatic, IMO.

"We learned more from a three minute record than we ever learned in school"

[–] nathankuhl 20 years ago

I understand your post, but I find it incredibly redundant. You start by stating that this movie is a fairy tale, and you're right, you nailed it. It is a fairy tale for grown ups, the ending is a dead giveaway to support that. Then you go on to critique the movie disregarding your first sentence! It IS for the most part a fantasy! It isn't meant to be exactly like real life. It's a somewhat realistic story with an infusion of irony and a twist of idealism and fantasy. That, in my eyes, is what makes it so beautiful. In the context of that perspective, it is genuinely dramatic.

But I understand completley if you don't like it. Maybe it's just not your thing. That's fine. I just don't quite understand what the reason for posting this message is. You obviously understand what the movie is. Why contradict yourself? Unless you just want to start a conversation about the movie...
Anyway I'm not trying to be mean-spirited at all, but I am just curious.

[–] spenctres 19 years ago

Superunknown you should just know when to criticise things in a realistic way when they actually trying to be realistic. Take forinstense in commando, when he's straffing throw the courtyard mowing down people easily as could be and the people that were shooting at him were missing terribly. That is a terrible seen. But when someone uses sheer imagination, you can never make fun of it. I dont really care for star wars, but I dont bash it because it is one of the most imaginative stories to come about. That's like watching 1984 and saying something like "that never happened, I had a mullet and drove a T top that year."

[–] orangeskulls 19 years ago

I can see your point.
I’ve loved this film since I was 12 years old, it’s a family favourite.
But what you have to understand is , lets just assume it’s trying to be as realistic as possible.
A child is very easily influenced by movies and people.
You see Devon aiming the gun saying “go ahead make my day “ in her family car
That’s a line from a famous movie , goes to show she knows what a gun is and how to aim one,
It’s a semi 9mm automatic , the recoil is next to nothing on a gun like that.
Designed for comfort and speed,.
As for aiming a gun at your own father , she hated her father ,
And Sean was about to hit Trent , with a huge stick , she wanted to protect him.

[–] thomas_luann 19 years ago

duh i think most movies are very unrealistic... i love how it looked so surreal. yes i think kids are that mature... i identified so much with devon.
some of the things she did were so far out of the realm of anything i would have done at that age... but she got to act out everything a person of that age might feel. i love how she urinated on her fathers truck... threw her nightgown to the wind and left her neighborhood!!! she got to do everything a child of that age would fantasize about!! yes unrealistic but satisfying./

[–] oewnaynailf 19 years ago

It's meant to be a fairytale sort of story. After all, the whole idea about dropping the towel and comb and having a river and forest spring up was from one of Grimm's fairytale stories. I saw the movie before I read the fairytale story and thought, "So, THAT'S where the movie got it from!"

[–] JamieTheMovieCritic 19 years ago

first of all...
if a child is in a tramatic experience, they will be that mature. there is a such thing as having an old soul, even in children.
second....
usually an adult spending that much time with a child is in fact a pervert... or maybe they love children? or maybe their mentality is that of a child and they get along better with them.
a kid is capable of "holding a gun to her fathers head" havent you seen the news? there ..sadly... has been many cases where a child has killed their parent for one reason or another. she got lucky with her aim.. but you do have to remember this is a movie. magic happens in movies. dont try to make sense out of everything you see on the screen.

[–] palindromicevilolive 19 years ago

Yeah, and if you remember, Trent was very reluctant to spend time with Devon at first-He clearly knew the risks involved, and wanted to steer clear of them. But Devon persisted, and Trent found himself liking her despite himself.

[–] Strait_Up_98 19 years ago

I was a very mature child and also started friendship (and we still are friends)when I was 9 with a man who is 17 years older then I. Some people thought it was strange and wondered why my mother allowed it but people who know us also knew that it was 100% innocent. So that part of the story is possible and I think thats why I love this movie so much.

[–] Paul_Kersey_Jr 19 years ago

i totally agree. the longer it went on , the more ridiculous it became.

[–] Raksha_Keller 18 years ago

Youger children are capable of having mature minds such as those of Devon. When I was 9 I made friends with a 17 year old and it was totally innocent. We just gelled on many things and enjoyed the basic company fo each other. Apart from him, when I was younger I had many older friends, both male and female and even now that I am 19,I have friends 10-15 years older than me.
I know that it may not appear as natural, but thats mainly due to the bad experiences that people have had and people just tend not even comprehend such a thing is possible and demonize evrything.

[–] 18 years ago

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[–] Raksha_Keller 18 years ago

Bump

[–] 18 years ago

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