Wildflower

The characters in this film... too often feel like their dialogue and behavior has been cut-and-pasted from other quirky indie dramedies.

A sweet yet straightforward coming of age drama.

A terrific cast can only do so much with superficial, maudlin material in the coming-of-age dramedy “Wildflower.”

“Wildflower” is a nervy sit, a movie that eventually makes its way toward acceptance, but only after putting its disabled characters through the trial of dehumanizing questions.

Might not be a radical departure from films of its type, but it does offer buoyant performances from both fresh and familiar faces.

The picture explores the chaos and confusion of extended families which find themselves with a common goal but no consensus on how to achieve it. It practically vibrates with the force of its good intentions.

The cast -- including Jean Smart, Jacki Weaver, Erika Alexander, Brad Garrett, Charlie Plummer, and Kannon -- are great, but their charisma can only cover up the confusion of the film's messaging so much.

This well-acted coming-of-age story is funny and heartwarming.

“Wildflower” feels like it’s drawing on a lifetime’s worth of experience, not only of the real Bea, but of the filmmaker’s as well and the result is utterly disarming.

Based on a true story, Wildflower has an admirable performance from Kiernan Shipka, but there are too many problems with this uneven dramedy, including awkward subplots that go nowhere and underdeveloped characters that are bad parodies of real people.