Stoutor It's not great by any means, but it's a pretty good movie that didn't leave me filled with regret for investing time in it.

Kidskycom It's funny watching the elements come together in this complicated scam. On one hand, the set-up isn't quite as complex as it seems, but there's an easy sense of fun in every exchange.

DipitySkillful an ambitious but ultimately ineffective debut endeavor.

Salubfoto It's an amazing and heartbreaking story.

dansview I watched this because I like songwriting,road pictures, and the lead guy as an actor. But I couldn't stick with it. I left at the 3/4 mark. It was like watching a documentary of a no-talent loser strumming a guitar in bars. How long can you do that? OK Indie film world. There are a lot of Godless waste-oids floating around the states and the world. We get it already.Was this supposed to be summer time? No one was cold, there was no snow in the Heartland, and the kid was not in school. No one ever mentions school. They could have at least acknowledged what season it is. Where is she from? Elisabeth Shue would have been 46 when this was filmed. Thirteen years prio, she would have been 33. Isn't that a bit old for a groupie? Especially since she is eight years older than the lead guy in real life.I guess it was good that the music sucked, because then you can see why the guys is struggling and not famous anymore.I give credit for not dubbing in some soundtrack. The lead guy looks so much like Chris Martin of Coldplay by the way. We are to assume that years ago, with a full band, he sounded good and had a knack for writing poignant lyrics.Nivola (the lead) played his role with soul, as he always does. The little girl did well by not pushing any stereotypes of the jaded kid or the precocious one.I just didn't know where this was going,or maybe I knew all too well, and that's why I abandoned it.I don't recommend it to anyone. It's slower than molasses, and it's hard to root for anyone, other than the kid. Having said all that, it never stooped to sleaziness or preaching, and didn't slam you over the head with an Indie soundtrack to the non-musical scenes.

Violet Weed The lead character is excellent in this movie. I thought she was a very sweet young girl with a lovely singing voice too. They could have developed her character more, but then it probably would have overpowered the other characters in this ensemble movie. I liked it, even though it started out rather slow. Like another reviewer, I too think there could be a good sequel set 'five years later'. Enjoyable, 'almost' family movie, not quite... too much pot smoking.Elizabeth Shue must have had some money invested in this movie, because she didn't have a big part. It was almost like a 'pilot' for a TV series, actually. I loved it when the girl says she learned how to bail out her dad by watching "Dog the Bounty Hunter",

napierslogs Janie Jones (Abigail Breslin), a 13 year-old girl is with her mother and they are off to meet her father. Except her mother (Elisabeth Shue) is a whore-like drug- addicted loser who's abandoning her daughter. And her father (Alessandro Nivola) is a fading rock-and-roll star who has no idea he has a daughter, let alone any intention of being a father to one. "Janie Jones" the film and each of the characters pick all the right notes.It's a fairly subtle drama about a young girl who doesn't want to be left on her own but knows how to take care of herself; and a father who doesn't seem to have the first clue about how to take care of himself, but with the arrival of Janie, he might try for her sake. Similar movies have been done before, but this one is a bit more subtle in their actions even if the plot points are the same. I whole-heartedly enjoyed each of the choices they made to the move the film along.Ethan, the father, is a rock singer desperate to cling on to the notoriety that comes with being a band leader. As you can guess, his career isn't going so well. One of the excellent elements of the film was choosing softer, folk songs when he's actually playing music for us, or for his daughter. And, even better, it really is Nivola playing the guitar. A talented musician, he was in bands throughout high school and university.More excellent choices were made in the casting and characterizations. Brittany Snow has managed to stay just in the shadows of the Hollywood spotlight her whole career despite her cute, blonde looks. I'm assuming that has something do with the fact that even though she is a cute blonde, either her characters have had a dark side or the films have had a dark side. I've always admired that about her. This marks the first time she's not playing a teenager. And her character, named Iris, who appears to be a whore-like drug-addicted loser on the arm of Ethan, isn't exactly as she appears to be. Frank Whaley, playing Ethan's band-mate, steals the few scenes he's in by adding some touching comedy to the drama.Nivola and Breslin are the stars and despite their age and background differences, they never went over-the-top around each other. They both played their characters with the subtlety required. The scenes of just the two of them were cute but never showy; they held our hearts the whole way. I've always loved Nivola and have appreciated everything he has done. Breslin has made the right choice by returning to her indie roots, showing how she has matured and keeping the comedy in check."Janie Jones" has flown under the radar, I'm assuming because it has chosen quieter tones, but they are the right ones.

aegriffin This movie is about a down and out rock star who learns that he has a 13 year old daughter by a drug-addicted ex-groupie, whom, sadly, he doesn't remember. (The story has actually been done before in a terrible 1984 movie (the story line of which was suggested by 'Mick Jagger' (qv) entitled _Blame It on the Night (1984)_ (qv).) Fortunately, that's where the similarity ends as this is a much better film, with respect to both writing and acting. All performances are solid and credible and the viewer doesn't feel (at least as measured by the reaction of the audience at the Tribeca Film Festival) he wasted the price of admission. Ironically, the weakest part of the film is the music: the songs performed are so poor one wonders how the lead character could have become a rock sensation in the first place.