Travis (James Freedson-Jackson) and Harrison (Hays Wellford) are running away from home when they find a cop car in a field. It's unlocked and the keys are inside. Obviously, there's only one thing the boys can do. Sheriff Kretzer (Kevin Bacon) returns from dumping a body in a convenient abandoned well to find his patrol car full of incriminating evidence gone. Now it's a game of wits between a corrupt cop and two ten-year-olds.
First of all, THIS IS WHY GIRLS LIVE LONGER THAN BOYS. The most harrowing moments in this film don't come from a desperate man threatening children, they come from the children themselves, blithely handling firearms, a portable defibrillator, and speeding down the center of a highway. If you are a parent, this probably qualifies as a horror movie.
However, I am just a cat lady so I thought this was hilarious. It feels like a darker version of classic Disney children's adventure movies. It makes great use of a very small cast, keeping the two boys centered in the action. They seem absolutely real, from the dialogue to the general goofing around. I don't know how director Jon Watts coached them, but he got the most natural performances I have seen in ages out of them.
This was a Sundance darling but bombed at the box office. It needs a second chance. It's currently streaming on Amazon Prime, if you are in the mood for a tightly paced, black comedy that feels almost like nostalgia but isn't.
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