A homeless mutt fills the void in the life of a motherless girl, and knits together the townsfolk of Naomi, Florida. The maker of The Center of the World and Slam Dance might not be the man whom you'd choose to entrust with the care of your children. Then again, Wayne Wang is also the maker of Maid in Manhattan and Anywhere but Here. (Will the real Wayne Wang please stand up?) In any event, there's nothing to worry about here beyond an overflow of sap. The first-person narrator, trying to give the one in To Kill a Mockingbird a run for her money, assures you "It's a good story," but apart from some atmospheric mundanities (the girl's father, a Baptist minister, holds Sunday services in the former Pick-It-Quick Food Mart), it's mostly a sententious story. Based on the novel by Kate DiCamillo. With AnnaSophia Robb, Jeff Daniels, Cicely Tyson, Dave Matthews, and Eva Marie Saint. (2005) — Duncan Shepherd
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