Deidra & Laney Rob a Train

Working from a snappy but never snarky screenplay by first-timer Shelby Farrell, helmer Freeland (Drunktown’s Finest) maintains a strain-free upbeat energy yet keeps the action rooted in a strong sense of place and class.

Crow and fellow up-and-comer Ashleigh Murray make an infectiously spirited duo in director Sydney Freeland’s sophomore feature; exuberant but not obnoxious, their combined energy and ingenuity is enough to steam the film through some off-track script wobbles.

"Deidra & Laney” shows an easy flair for heartwarming comedy, character eccentricity and issues that sting but resolutions that soothe.

That rare made-for-Netflix comedy clever enough, desperate enough, that it could have found an audience on the big screen.

This reasonably engaging picture is being pushed as a kind of diversity-prioritizing indie comedy as opposed to the YA film it really is, for reasons not entirely clear to me.

The not-so-subtle message of Deidra & Laney Rob a Train is one of self-confidence and self-actualization, and every single “good” character progresses fairly steadily towards their own version of this ideal, a decision that renders the eventual outcomes somewhat tedious in their predictability.

Freeland is clearly having fun behind the camera, but broad and superficial performances mean the fun doesn’t always translate.