Boundaries

Though blessed with outstanding performers, this indie dramedy/road movie never really sparks to life; it's a little too aware of its plot and character components and comes off as mechanical. Written and directed by Shana Feste (Country Strong, Endless Love), Boundaries frankly has too many boundaries, too much material that seems cobbled together from other screenplays or learned in screenwriting class, with too little room to breathe. Even more distressing, Laura comes across as high-strung, screechy, and irreversibly damaged. She's not much fun and not very appealing, and her character doesn't do much to advance the quality of female representation on-screen.

The main male characters are the ones who get to have fun and be silly. But they're both defined, simply, by a single character trait: Jack by his pot dealing and Henry by his drawings of naked people. These traits are meant to be humorously shocking, but the movie's muted tone -- it's trying to be a touching drama as well as a comedy -- dampens all the laughs. Fortunately, cheerful, squeaky-voiced goofball Schaal elevates the movie in her few scenes. JoJo is the only character who seems to have any kind of humorous self-conflict; she's unflappably happy despite her cramped living conditions. It's too bad the rest of Boundaries couldn't have cut loose a bit.