Nymphet Media

Little Birds 2012

I'm drunk rn so like these next couple parts will not have the best synopsis.🤣

My Synopsis: A story about a damaged girl named Lilly played by Juno Temple who convinced her best friend Alison played by Kay Panabaker to runaway from home with her because she fell in love with a boy who lived in California. Lilly is the more wild child, someone who will pop off at the mouth and starts fights, but when challenged she will back down. Alison is more reserved and kind of nerdy. Kind of a Jennifer and Needy kind of friendship. Things go South when Alison and the boys they are staying with convinces her to life men to an abandoned apartment building and rob them. Alison doesn't like this, but only goes along with it to not seem like a loser.

My thoughts: it's an okay movie. It's pretty fun to watch, it has great sad moments and you're kind of rooting for these girls.

Official Synopsis:

Lily (Juno Temple) and Alison (Kay Panabaker) are best friends living in a poverty-stricken California town near the Salton Sea. The two are complete opposites: Lily is a suicidal rebellious girl who lives with her single mother, Margaret (Leslie Mann) while Alison is a cautious and careful girl who lives with her alcoholic dad. Alison finds solace under her uncle Hogan's (Neal McDonough) automotives and horses while Lily wants to flee her troubled home life as soon as possible. Together, the two girls venture into their secluded town and join skateboarding boys from Los Angeles: Louis (Carlos Pena), David (Chris Coy) and Jesse (Kyle Gallner) with whom Lily soon becomes smitten. Before the boys leave, Jesse kisses Lily and writes his number onto her arm, which upsets Alison.

Lily asks Alison to borrow Hogan's truck so they can meet up with Jesse and his friends in Los Angeles and Alison reluctantly agrees. When they stop at a convenience store, Lily saves Alison as she gets caught trying to return the goods Lily stole for them. The two soon find the three boys and Alison drives them to their place. While walking in the streets, Lily bumps into a hustler and she demands an apology. When the man tries to reason with her, David hits him over head with a skateboard and the five run away, leaving Alison in shock. The group settles at the boys' abandoned rundown apartment where other homeless teenagers reside. Alison tries to warn Lily that Jesse might be more dangerous than they think but Lily refuses to listen. Alison shares an intimate moment with Louis but quickly rebuffs him when he starts groping her.

In the morning, Lily and Jesse break into an empty house where Jesse explains that it used to be his home until his family moved to Arizona but he decided to return to L.A. on his own. Meanwhile, Alison calls her uncle Hogan and apologizes for taking the truck. Hogan urges her to come home and Alison promises to bring Lily back. Back at the house, Jesse notices Lily's self-harm scars when they are kissing. He is intrigued by her suicidal demeanor and also reveals his scar on his chest to make Lily feel better. David discovers a dating website and convinces a hesitant Jesse to use Lily as a bait for scamming and stealing from older men. Lily agrees and meets up with an old man and lures him to their place where the boys, along with a hesitant Alison, threaten the man with a gun in exchange for money before setting him free.

Alison makes Lily promise that they will go home but David gets into an argument with Alison and throws her out of the group. Alison tries to convince Lily to come along but Lily refuses, saying that she is staying with Jesse. The two argue and their friendship is damaged. Lily continues to help with the scam and meets up with a middle-aged guy, John (JR Bourne). However, John is a violent psychopath and overpowers the boys. He knocks out David and Louis while Jesse runs away, leaving a terrified Lily. John forces a crying Lily onto the mattress and prepares to rape her but he is shot in the back. The shooter is revealed to be Alison, who decided to come back for Lily one last time. The girls reconcile and Lily agrees to come home. On their way back, Alison pulls over near the beach. They both step out and enjoy their last moments in Los Angeles before finally heading back home.

IMDb score: 6.1/10

Rotten Tomatoes score: 59% critic score, 42% Audience Score

My score: ⭐⭐⭐