Deidra & Laney Rob a Train (2017) User Reviews

fun independent film

[blanche-2 · 6/10 · 16 April 2017]

Now that Hollywood has figured out that there's money to be made with independent films, we see a lot of them, and they cost a fortune. It's not like the old days.

Deidra & Laney Rob a Train is an old-fashioned independent - it didn't cost much by movie standards and many of the actors are unfamiliar to audiences.

The mother of three goes to prison, leaving her kids to fend for themselves. When they visit her in prison, it turns out she's having a blast not having to work. She's doing yoga, getting her nails done, and can choose between the kitchen OR the laundry. But the kids want to bail her out.

As the bills pile up, the older one, Deidra (Ashleigh Murray) decides to rob a train, as they live near the tracks. She drags her sister Laney (Rachel Crow) into it. They actually are able to do it more than once and sell what they get. Then their estranged father gets into the act.

Entertaining film with some life lessons about self-esteem, bullying, and - oh, yes, stealing.

This is on Netflix streaming - check it out. You'll enjoy it.

...uuummm ... not a favorite

[savvycobb · 5/10 · 14 June 2021]

I love my RACHEL in this movie , ever since I saw her singing debut on whatever singing show I saw her on as a child! She is the best ...but other than that... this is a take it or leave it type of flick. The "felon father" was probably the best acting role in the movie imo.

...And I don't care to hear kids cussing...and cussing... and cussing...

Sort of evens out...

[screenwriter-972-149612 · 5/10 · 5 April 2022]

My 5 might be a tad generous. But the film boasts some likable characters played well by the principals. But the premise? The script? All shot through with more plot holes than can be listed here. Some of the scenes are downright impossible, let alone believable. And the film is too long. The beauty pageant angle could have been jettisoned. Would have cut ten minutes off the run time and tightened up the film considerably.

Not a great film. Not even a good one. But, as I noted, the main characters are intriguing and even ingratiating. They make the film watchable.

fun and full of heart

[tsimshotsui · 30 March 2017]

Deidra & Laney Rob a Train is one heart-warming, entertaining film that one needs from time to time. I found myself rooting for the lead characters all the way.

The film is something of a feel- good vibe where not everything will feel plausible, but it's very easy to forgive because by then you'll be heavily invested in the characters. And the feel-good vibe also does not mean there aren't heavier issues handled with great care and heart. I was definitely tearing up in one scene. Ashleigh Murray is amazing as Deidra, the future Valedictorian who's left to take care of her sister and brother while their mom is in jail. She's very charismatic and was more than capable of carrying the film. I hope to see her in more good roles like this one. Rachel Crow, Danielle Nicolet and Sasheer Zamata were also such pleasures to watch in their respective roles. Missi Pyle also deserves a mention!

good, if you buy into it all.

[ksf-2 · 7/10 · 22 October 2023]

When mom makes a scene and gets carted off to jail, her daughters need money to pay the bills. Including mom's bail money. So they hatch a plan to rob a train... which happens to run through their yard. They go through with it, and if we buy into some pretty unlikely events, and...they pull it off! While discussing self esteem issues. It's mostly silly, but there are some funny bits. The guidance counselor who just wants to escape this town. The high school students will do just anything to get into a college. The beauty contestants who trip each other to win. Life in a small town. It's silly, but not bad. Directed by sidney freeland. Story by shelby farrell. Stick around for a fun scene about halfway through the closing credits.

Inconsistent tone and morally bankrupt

[Wizard-8 · 3/10 · 26 October 2019]

I have no idea why Netflix recommended to me a movie that seems aimed at the teenage market, but sometimes Netflix's surprise recommendations introduce me to a hidden gem. Sadly, this isn't one of those times. I am quite surprised that as of this date, most IMDb users have given this movie a very positive recommendation. For one thing, the lessons that the movie seems to be teaching its audience are very questionable, suggesting among other things that it is okay to backstab people or engage in felony robbery, and you can get away with it if you're careful enough. Really, those are just some of the inappropriate things that are encouraged! I'm sure even youths will question what the filmmakers were thinking of. The other big problem I had with the movie was that its tone was wildly inconsistent. Sometimes the movie seems to be a goofy comedy, while at other times it deals with issues in a serious manner. The tone of the movie never finds a firm footing; it should have stuck to either being funny or serious. About the only merit that the movie has is that its no-name cast shows some talent and likability, and its diverseness is depicted in a matter-of-fact manner with absolutely no mention of race or ethnicity. Other than that, there's simply nothing here to make the movie worth watching whether you are a youth or an adult.

BAD IDEA!

[jandlwatts · 1/10 · 1 February 2021]

In the wake of the "Black Lives Matter" movement the makers of this film thought it would be a great idea to make a flippant film about two desperately poor teenage sisters from a broken home who decide to steal cargo from passing trains. And after getting cornered by the authorities, they decide the best plan of action is to bait and goad the arresting officer and take off running in an attempt to film the officer violating their human rights. Wow, now there's a story whose time has come! Let's make it a comedy! (Wink, wink)

Light, funny, and lovable

[AmakoaAkana · 10/10 · 25 July 2017]

I loved the characters, all of them. Even the outrageous psycho train dick.

Ashleigh Murray plays Deidra, the oldest sister, highly intelligent, valedictorian, the only one in her class with any hopes of getting into a top university. But when her Mother gets thrown into jail in a fit of insanity, Deidra is left to try and pay the bills and her college dreams fade. Food is down to a half bag of potato chips. Social services is pounding on her door, threatening to take her siblings Laney, played by Rachel Crow, and her brother to foster homes.

Deidra comes up with a plan: robbing freight trains that roll by her backyard with her shy little sister, a helmeted teddy bear, and fencing the stuff (detergent as an example, until they learn to read the labels on the crates) wholesale. Through the planning of the robberies and subsequent twists and turns, I fell in love with the two sisters, rooting for them to succeed at every turn.

Sounds heavy, but the movie is light, funny, and lovable. For me, Deidra & Laney is an edge of the midnight movie seat, unable to even take a break to grab a snack, and staying until the last credit rolled movie. And lastly, I appreciated a plot I haven't seen before, in a rural poverty stricken setting, and having mixed race kids as the protagonists.

Hidden,yes. A gem? No.

[Cinebuff38 · 1/10 · 1 April 2022]

So this is the set up. At or near the beginning of the film, the mother of the protagonists (Deidra and Laney) is seen in the store where she works, is holding a TV above her head threatening to throw it on to the floor. She then throws said TV on to the floor, smashing it to pieces. Needless to say, she is sacked, prosecuted and ends up in jail hoping that someone can bail her out. This leaves Deidra and Laney without any means of financial support and parental guidance. So they come up with this bright idea. "Let's rob a train". So they do. So far, so far-fetched. And then there was a line said by a social worker which went something like: If you can't show financial support, then your sibling is gone". Really? I don' think any social worker would speak to someone like that, not without getting some kind of disciplinary action taken against them anyway. In fact the whole film plays out in the usual type of dialogue and demeanour for which American films are famous for.

We find out that one of the investigators is corrupt, though I didn't quite understand how.

The proceeds from the train robbery were used to bail their mother out. The corrupt officer was bought to book. The perpetrators however, were not.

This film was in the hidden gems section of Netflix who actually made the film. This is a message to their management: A gem can be a film from: Bergman, Kurosawa, or Varda for example. It doesn't always even have to be foreign films. There are plenty of English language films that are gems, even from America. But this is most certainly not one of them.

A weak and uneven script fixed somehow in post production

[ersbel · 3 September 2017]

This is a weak and uneven script. One sister has some background, yet the other does not have anything. Than you realize the scriptwriter wanted badly to make points with the losers in the audience that will empathize with the character because of bullying. And maybe trick some real reviewers into dropping a word about social issues. The pre production is awfully done. There is a family. But the individuals don't look anything like each other. Only in post production we get the nice parts like the way the title is made in the opening sequence.

And the awful moments of deus ex machina! The two women forget about the state employee visiting, but the apparently uninformed ex dad is there, for the first time in the whole script and he also had the time to clean up. His character might be a slob, but he surely knows how to clean a house with children home alone. And he is always very clean. Yet he is an underachiever.

Anyway, the over 30 characters are clownish.

Contact me with Questions, Comments or Suggestions ryitfork @ bitmail.ch

How about a real review?

[kimbpaul · 1/10 · 31 December 2021]

Anything over a 5 is a suspect review. Probably relatives of the cast.

Crazy mom gets arrested, minor kids that don't automatically drop into the system, instead allowed to stay in their home alone. Teenaged boy finances his purchases of the girls' stolen merchandise by stealing the cash right out of the fast food restaurant till. Guidance counselor catches the girls with a living room full of evidence, doesn't call the police. Loser absentee father jumps in to help the girls evade detection and and coaches them on how to read manifests and labels. Flood of stolen merchandise hitting the streets, nobody wonders where it's coming from. Yep, this is a realistic story.

Normally, all movies require some suspension of belief. This movie requires the watcher to be comatose. Netflix should be ashamed of this POS.

Shows an interesting corner of life

[Okonh0wp · 8/10 · 11 April 2017]

"Deidra and Laney Rob a Train" is set in a non-descript town where almost no one goes to college, the local rail yard doesn't pay a sustainable wage, and signs of the town's glory days have littered the town's visual landscape. There's a lot of talk lately about showing more people of minority races on TV but this is a film that shows a landscape of economic depression that doesn't discriminate against people of either color. The two protagonists are bi-racial and neither their African-American mother nor their white father can make enough to provide them a brighter future (though points go to mom for trying quite a bit harder).

When the titular characters' mother gets incarcerated, they decide to rob the insides of slow-moving freight trains to raise money for their bail. The film gets interesting when exploring the dangers and logistics of such an act. Like a lot of the film, the appeal is in exploring a corner of Americana that has been right under your eyes most of your life.

Deidra and Laney are astereotpical with the elder sister being an overachiever in school and Laney being angst-filled and Laney filled with a mixture of angst and a desire to fit in. She's bullied quite a bit and these scenes are perhaps the cruelest in the film to stomach if you haven't seen much of this genre. The film is filled with a few familiar faces (Sasheer Zamata of "Saturday Night Live", Missi Pyle, and Tim Blake Nelson) but mostly thrives on new talent and these actresses have a lot of room to surprise us.

It's a worthwhile watch.

Fantastic

[dktragonizer · 10/10 · 25 March 2017]

I hadn't heard of this until I came across it looking through films on Netflix and gave it a shot because I liked the premise. Who doesn't enjoy a good train robbery story?

I was immediately pulled into the story through the two titular characters. Deidra and Laney get along as siblings tend to do - that is, not always well, but they love each other, and the two actresses had great chemistry in this regard.

I never once felt bored during this movie. I was always rooting for the main characters, on the edge of my seat wondering how they'd get through certain situations, and found myself laughing a few times at some good, funny moments. There's also one scene in particular that really tugs at the heartstrings; it was well-done and a gave a great bit of emotional impact to the film and its characters.

Phenomenal performances from everyone, but especially to Nicolet, Murray, Crow, and Zamata. Definitely a must-watch if you enjoy this kind of premise, and movies about teen girls learning to grow and kick ass.

A Gem of a Movie

[dollypeppers · 10/10 · 22 February 2018]

I'm so glad I stumbled across this on Netflix. It was so good. At its heart this is a story about family and what you will do to preserve it. This movie has a lot of soul to it; it's funny and it's moving. It's dramatic and it's somewhat bittersweet.

When mom goes to jail, what are two school age sisters with a younger brother to do? The bills pile up and CPS comes call. Dad's kind of a goofy wreck who claims he's the best dad in the world... when he's not there. The older sister is trying to get her plans together so she can go to college and get out of the little town that's keeping them down. It seems like everything is conspiring to keep these girls as nothings but that all turns around when they start robbing trains.

I appreciated how all the characters were written, they felt really real to me. And as I said before this is a very funny movie. I laughed out loud quite a bit. But it was also touching, if you have siblings you will feel those moments where the sisters conflict or work together. Give it a shot, you won't regret watching it.

great family film

[danemerritt · 10/10 · 19 March 2017]

good "indie style" film. thoroughly enjoyable. great for family/movie night. length isn't too bad.

definitely a film for all ages that anyone could enjoy multiple times.

all around good movie, goes to show that anything netflix puts out is worth a check.

A movie to reflect on

[faer_kr · 8/10 · 9 July 2020]

A combination of drama and teen adventure. It is about sisters who steal trains when their mother suffers a crisis and is imprisoned. An interesting movie. Current. How far would you be able to go to support and save your family? It is a moral premise that you question throughout the film, they steal to eat and stay together. Is it justifiable? Entertaining. Quality. With pleasant and funny moments. Addresses the importance of family and support.

Great Independent Film, With Fun Characters!

[icocleric · 8/10 · 12 January 2022]

It's good to show films of struggles, and situations people face. But it's also a fun comedy, with really great young actors, and charming characters. I enjoyed this film a lot.

Deidra is the oldest sibling, her Mum has just been thrown in jail, bills are mounting up, and she wants to take care of her siblings, and not have them taken into foster care. She's a bright young girl, who has the potential to go to college, but what does she have to do to keep her family together.

I think it manages to raise issues well, but still keep things fun. It was a great watch.

Fun and Different

[ghgaskins · 8/10 · 30 January 2021]

This is a good family comedy. How often do you get to see a dysfunctional family comprised of a mother in jail and a derelict father come together in a time of need. This is a comedy and a heist movie. It's fun although nothing realistic, but that's what fun is all about. Modern comedy with a interesting perspective on the definition of an effective family. My only spoiler, but no surprise is a very happy ending. There is nothing typical about this story and that is what makes it great. Highly recommended.