About Scout (2015)

How sad is this?

The performances transcend the film's tropes, grounding it in characters that feel more complete than this subgenre often produces.

Great movie! If you want to be entertained and have a few good laughs, see this movie. The music is also very good,

Just intense enough to provide a much-needed diversion, just lightweight enough to make you forget about it soon after it’s over. It’s not exactly “good,” per se, but it does what it sets out to do in terms of putting us on edge, which makes it … successful?

I would have given this 6 stars, but felt I needed to rate it higher than that, in order to make up for two ridiculously low votes this film received. I am glad I watched this film because the subject matter is serious, yet it doesn't drag us through the seriousness of the situation - - how two "throw away" kids in a dysfunctional family, in a dysfunctional universe, have learned to cope against all odds. I enjoyed watching the writer/actress India. She has a strong screen presence and I will look for more from her in the future. Her character, Scout, is brave and clever. And even though so many people in her life have betrayed her and let her down, she still has the discernment to be able to trust someone who is emotionally handicapped, but with good reason.I enjoyed seeing Scout and Sam connect, in a series of scenes that showed the progression of trust and care between the two of them. And I appreciated that friendship was the core of their connection. To have one friend in this life who truly cares about you and whom you can truly trust to look out for your well being -- well, that trumps just about anything the world can throw at you. In ABOUT SCOUT, a serious subject has been handled with enough truth to make it believable, enough heart to make it endearing, and enough hope to make it inspirational. Yep -- definitely worth watching.

I guess now it's cool to have a movie with a chick with colored hair wearing "punk" clothes to really add the essence of an "indie drama". Not to mention the story has no plot and the girl tries so hard to be bad-ass, quirky, and deep it's just pathetic. The girl who plays her little sister is a terrible actress. The whole movie is just terrible. I wish I could get that 1 hour and 30 minutes back from my life. But oh no, that's not all! It must be an amazing movie if every song they play throughout it is some sort of decent folk/indie band to make up for the cliché plot. Seriously, get better taste in movies. Just because they talk about the Great Gatsby (which everyone has read in high school), put some dumb blonde bitch to play the role of a "rebel", and play one Bright Eyes song, does NOT make it worthy of more than 4/10 stars.

Looks like I'm in disagreement with the other reviewers so far on the site, as I found this indie rang false with me pretty much from start to finish. India Ennenga and James Frecheville have good screen presence in their lead roles here, and there are some endearing moments along the way. However, to me, I just thought the plot elements were absurd, the dialogue weak, the characters surfacy, and the movie just left me with a pervasive sadness and hollow feeling. There are plenty of name actors in supporting roles in the film, but they can only do so much with the stilted and lifeless script.Overall, I just couldn't buy into what this indie was "selling", although I see the movie struck others quite differently.

"Scout" (2015 release; 90 min.) brings the story of Scout (played by India Ennenga), a 15 year old high schooler. As the movie opens, we see Scout waking up and getting ready for another day. We soon realize that Scout is pretty much responsible for taking care of her little sister Lulu, as they live her their ailing grandma (played by an unrecognizable Ellen Burstyn) and there is no sign of mom or dad. That changes, though, when no-good loser dad shows up and 'claims' Lulu. Before we know it, Scout hits the road to track down and hopefully reunite with Lulu. To tell you more would spoil your viewing experience, you'll just have to see for yourself how it all plays out.Couple of comments: first, this movie is written and directed by Laurie Waltz, based on a story from Waltz and Ennenga herself, no less. Second, it is very clear that this movie was made on (less than) a shoes-string budget. Yet that doesn't stop Waltz from extracting commendable acting performances, none more so that Ennenga in the title role. There are a number of small roles for bigger names like Danny Glover (I guess he still does make movies!) and Jane Seymour (same comment for her!). The other lead performance comes from James Frecheville, as the troubled teenager with whom Scout connects on the fly (and these two clearly have a good screen chemistry).I recently caught this movie during a return transatlantic flight on Virgin Atlantic. The selection of movies was okay but not great (as compared to the flight over on Delta). I had never heard of this movie (turns out this has been sitting on the shelves for almost 2 years), but in the end I liked its free spirit and can-do attitude. If you like indie movies, I'd readily recommend you check this out, be it on VOD or eventually on DVD/Blu-ray.