Directed by Matt Smukler from a screenplay by Jana Savage, Wildflower attempts to be a heartfelt dramedy and a coming-of-age story about a teenager who cares for her disabled parents and struggles under the pressure of doing that alongside balancing her personal life. On the surface, Wildflower succeeds, but digging deeper into its message reveals a more disheartening and disingenuous film. Despite a fantastic cast, Wildflower doesn’t live up to its potential, and uses its disabled characters as vehicles to drive the main character’s story, which will leave a bitter taste in your mouth after all is said and done.
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Wildflower opens with a family gathered around a comatose teenager. Before long, Bea (Kiernan Shipka), short for Bambi, the aforementioned teen, is narrating the story of how she got into such a predicament. Born to Derek (Dash Mihok), who suffered a traumatic head injury when he was 12 that caused neurodivergence, and Sharon (Samantha Hyde), who was born with an intellectual delay, Bea grew up a lot faster than other kids. While her extended family — including her aunt (Alexandra Daddario) and two grandmothers (Jean Smart and Jacki Weaver) tried to help care for her, Bea’s parents wanted to remain her primary caretakers. That ultimately saw Bea caring for her parents while juggling high school and a relationship with Ethan (Charlie Plummer). A number of events lead her to a situation that puts her in a coma, styled as a mystery that must be solved.

If Wildflower was ever interested in exploring its disabled characters’ lives and interiority, it doesn’t bother to delve any deeper beyond the pain and stress they cause Bea. The film brings up questions about parenting, the rights of a child, and what a child might endure when parents are not up to the task of caring for them, but it drops the ball in saying anything meaningful. A big part of the issue is the film’s tone, which alternates between being heartfelt and funny, much of which is not earned, and serious.

Had Wildflower taken the time to treat its disabled characters with some compassion, then it might have succeeded in being a better film. However, it treats Bea’s parents like they’re the problem and many of the film’s comedic scenes involve them to the point of discomfort. The film is meant to be inspiring, and its heart seems like it’s in the right place considering that it’s influenced by Smukler’s own niece, but it falters on that front.

It’s easy to understand where this film is coming from, but the approach needed to be more refined and thoughtful in its handling of Sharon and Derek. Otherwise, it just makes it seem like they were used for laughs, cheap sympathy, and to elevate an able-bodied character in her story. There are definitely genuine moments throughout the film, and the cast is fantastic, but Smukler doesn’t utilize everything to the advantage of the story or its characters. What’s more, the mystery surrounding Bea’s accident — which is spearheaded by a social worker played by Erika Alexander — doesn’t really add anything to the narrative, nor does it make for a more emotional throughline, especially when we realize how she came to be in the coma to begin with.

To be sure, there are aspects of Wildflower that are touching and intriguing, but the film’s execution needed some fine-tuning. Somewhere between its attempts at being an inspirational comedy and a coming-of-age story, there’s a great movie hiding beneath the surface, if only the film had dared to go deeper by giving its disabled characters some genuine perspective.

Wildflower is now available to stream on Hulu. The film is 106 minutes long and is rated R for teen drinking, language, and a sexual reference.