Frank & Penelope

It’s an intriguing attempt to smash together a bunch of genres, and the deeper it gets, the more fun it becomes.

For viewers who never got enough of Thelma and Louise.

The ending has a payoff that’s satisfying, and Flanery nails the dark and twisted, retro crime thriller vibe, but overall this is a middle-of-the-road B-movie that borrows too heavily from better outlaw love story films that came before.

Though its star, Caylee Cowan, commands our attention with a confident performance that makes us want to see where she turns up next, her director, Sean Patrick Flanery, does not surround her with much.

With a plot about outlaw lovers on the run, and with flashes of quirky comedy, Frank and Penelope desperately tries to be like 1990's Wild at Heart. The result is a time-wasting bore with a nonsensical story and terrible acting.

As much as viewers might want to root for the central couple to find true love, the world they occupy is so callous and brutal that hope soon fades, and a feeling of disgust creeps in.

The film likely won’t blow your mind, but it’s a solid entry in the genre nonetheless.

Flanery's script traffics in truck stop philosophy, con artist speeches and horror movie tropes that long ago turned into cliches.