Manny & Lo

This is the sweetest film. It's definitely a 'chick thing' with Manny and Lo and Elaine bonding around an infant to be (Lo's). No men are allowed in this paradise. One appears and he gets bopped over the head, gagged and hog-tied. This is a fem-family made on the run. Lo (Aleska Palladino) in her high teens runs away from a foster home with her younger sister, Manny (Scarlett Johansson). It's a Thelma and Louise crime spree made as a movie for children. Well, not quite. Turns out Lo's pregnant. She has been hiding this from 11-year-old Manny, who has the eye of Sherlock Holmes and is the brains of this team. They find a rather nice, used only during the ski season cabin in the woods and hole up to await the stork. They spot Elaine (Mary Kay Place), a lonely spinster working in a baby clothes shop and kidnap her to help deliver the baby. Everybody, despite gruff exteriors, has a heart of gold, and togetherness and loving concern prevail.

And what's wrong with that?

Nothing really. But I was thinking: this is the obverse of male war movies where none or few women appear, men doing their manly thing killing one another, women irrelevant. I think that's the key word here for director Lisa Kruege: in the reproductive game that is war by other means, men are irrelevant. Or almost so. In war it doesn't matter how many men are killed. As long as there are some left the population will quickly spring back. Kill the women, though, and you have a serious population problem. Manny and Lo and Elaine prove that you really don't need the male: his sperm will do, and that way you don't have to put up with his loutish behavior.

I think I got this right. Anyway, it's a cute movie.

(Note: Over 500 of my movie reviews are now available in my book "Cut to the Chaise Lounge or I Can't Believe I Swallowed the Remote!" Get it at Amazon!)

I think it could use some editing to speed the pace a bit. A pregnant teen and her younger sister run away from foster homes and kidnap a woman whom they believe can help with the pregnancy. This is the kind of low-budget film that truly proves that a small story can be much more meaningful than a larger one. This film is worthy of all the hopes you have as all of the characters struggle against a system that has perpetuated falsehoods. Are there annoying things in this movie? Yes, like the overdone acting. But the movie has enough to keep you entertained. For these reasons, I give this movie a rating of 7 out of 10.

"Manny & Lo" tells of two runaway girls and the how they deal with the challenges which arise when one gets pregnant. What this film lacks in big budget blockbuster appurtenances it more than makes up for with it's creative and unpredictable story, depth of character, raw charm, tongue-in-cheek humor, and insightful sensitivity. A wonderful little "sleeper" which necessarily starts slow and builds delivering pound-for-pound much more than films with many times the hype and box office. Most likely to be appreciated by females and more mature males.

Laurel (Aleksa Palladino) is 16 year old Lo. Amanda (Scarlett Johansson) is her 11 year old sister Manny. The sisters run away from their separate foster parents. They steal gas and food. They break into empty houses. They get by until Lo has to finally admit that she's not fat, she's pregnant. They squat in an off-season ski cabin. They kidnap baby-store saleswoman Elaine (Mary Kay Place) to help them with the birth.

The story is fine for an indie. The dialog isn't anything great. This is all about the two young actresses. ScarJo is lovely in one of her early roles. She seems to always have that raspy voice. Palladino is great. They have really good sisterly chemistry. The movie could be a little sharper with the comedy and dialog. Overall, it's a fun indie with those great young actresses.

I saw this film for the first time on TV Ontario last night and it was a beautiful film both visually and emotionally. Lo (Aleska Palladino) and her younger sister, Manny (Scarlett Johansson) run away using a family car. When the film opens, we find them on the fresh, green turf of a new sub-division being chased away by the property owners. Lo is sixteen and pregnant and Manny is an 11-year-old with smarts. They make the rounds of the countryside and small towns and kidnap Elaine (Mary Kay Place), a retail clerk working in a baby boutique. Elaine is made to sign a note that she is on vacation, leaving her owner and co-workers to fend for themselves. This is totally out of character for Elaine, who is a pillar of her community with a heart of gold. As the movie moves along, we see a bond develop between the three female characters with Elaine becoming the mother figure to the free-spirited sisters, who come from a troubled family. The girls learn from Elaine as she fills a void in her own life. Director Lisa Krueger has put together a fine story that moves along slowly but draws the viewer into the characters.