Rose, the 12-year-old protagonist of “Rain, Rain,” is obsessed with homophones (words that sound alike but have different spellings and meanings), and the title is a direct reference to the name she gave to her appropriately regal-looking golden retriever. But there are layers of meaning hidden in Erica Burke Rossa’s frank, heartfelt family film. A simple story about a young sociopath navigating a world he doesn’t understand, it offers a feel-good, mature lesson in resilience, selflessness, and generosity without much coding or disguise. Understated and likable, this modest adaptation of Ann M. Martin’s 2014 children’s book will appeal to patient and sensitive children and their parents, but may be a bit bland for others.
Paul Rudd is a first-timer and is characteristically affable as the kindly uncle, but relative newcomer Felice Kakaretris is clearly the star of the film, playing the highly intelligent and neurodivergent Rose. Her solemn and sincerely empathetic performance convincingly anchors “Rain Rain” in the character’s naive but rigorously rational, strongly principled worldview. (In fact, her narration of the script feels a little patted at times.) Meanwhile, Rudd’s involvement gives this Tribeca premiere enough profile to potentially get a theatrical release, but it should feel very much at home on the small screen.
For as long as Rose can remember, she has been raised alone in a run-down country house in upstate New York by her blue-collar father, Wes (Jeremy Sisto). She may have no direct memory of her mother. Although she says her father left her when she was young, she idealizes her mother in the same way. Wes, on the other hand, is loving but not entirely up to the demands of parenting, especially when it comes to drinking. As a result, Rose has become quite good at taking care of herself, but she is prone to anxiety symptoms, especially at school, as some teachers and students understand her better than others.
The regular check-ins of Wes’ calmer, usually more present brother Waylon (Rudd) are a stabilizing influence, despite ongoing tensions between the two. Unresolved from a rough childhood spent in various foster homes, Burke Rossa’s screenplay develops the backstory in small doses, limited to mostly terminology that the young heroine can understand. But the adoption of the aforementioned dog, which Wes finds in a downpour one night, proves to be the most stabilizing influence on Rose, whom he quickly becomes smitten with and sincerely takes care of. It doesn’t take long for Rain to become her definition of an emotional support animal.
So when a dog goes missing during a severe storm that devastates the area and leaves many homeless, an overwhelmed Rose must balance the urgency of the search mission with the misfortune of those closest to her. This is one of the rather serious character-building moral and emotional challenges this film takes the lead on. “Rain, Rain” may be light on the major incidents of the story by the standards of most children’s entertainment, but it can’t be accused of being a small gamble. Rose’s relationship with her father is also unusual in its unresolved jaggedness, while Sisto’s petulant, last-minute performance reveals a deep well of adult pain in Wes that his daughter has yet to deal with or understand.
Somewhat ironically, it’s Rudd’s warm movie star presence that brings the film closer to the after-school realm. Rather, like Gretchen Mol in her sunny role as an animal shelter foster caretaker, his Waylon offers a lifeline of adult benevolence to a girl used to being let down by adults. He doesn’t have much inner depth, but there’s a limit to the amount of adult troubles this kind-hearted child-perspective story requires. If you can’t get a cute dog to watch over your lonely, vulnerable child, you might think Paul Rudd might be the next best thing.
