An independent film with a green thumb.

That would be twice this season I’ve reviewed a movie with a name Mabel and a girl who loves her environment more than other people would. There was the Disney-Pixar animated feature “Hoppers” with the main heroine named Mabel, and now, there is the independent movie named “Mabel.” Only it isn’t the name of the main heroine; it’s the name of a plant which is also the best friend of the real main heroine-an awkward 6th grader named Callie. Important distinction.

Judy Greer is the celebrity I know in this film, but the real stars are newcomer Lexi Perkel who plays Callie and the plants that her character buys and plants. They both have plenty of oxygen, sunlight, and water to make this movie environmentally friendly. Well, most of it anyway, but I’ll get to that in a second.

She and her family-mother Angela (Christine Ko from “Tigertail” and “Only Murders in the Building”), father David (Quincy Dunn-Baker from “Nonnas” and “A House of Dynamite”), and baby sister Zoey-move to a new neighborhood. She’s the kind of girl who more of an expert on plants than her parents, and they’re the kind who don’t like Mabel being on the table. When the principal asks the mother if they had her evaluated, my guess would have been autism, but her answer is: “Awkward Nerd.” But I guess she would be on the spectrum, so anything is possible. Not everyone knows for sure.

Greer plays the wisecracking and disenchanted substitute 8th grade science teacher Mrs. G, whose botany lessons are the reason why Callie skips her science classes. She inspires Callie to start a plant experience in her shed. But she didn’t tell her to buy $400 worth of plants on her parents’ credit card. This is when Angela grounds her from plants, and this is when Callie tells her she’s “the meanest person in the world.” She responds: “I’m not mean. I know it is to be a mean parent.” And this is me thinking that the behaviors here are too much for a small sweet movie like this. But at the very least, her mother does come around and helps her.

Her parents want her to make new friends. Human friends that is. So, her dad signs her up for golf lessons, while she makes friends with her 4th grade neighbor Agnes (Lena Josephine Marano), whose dance lessons take place near the same university where Mrs. G. works at. That would give Callie the opportunity to see her work, and the Agnes does help her with her plant experiments a bit. So, she should be more beneficial to her than the average, cynical person would realize.

“Mabel” is the feature debut for co-writer and director Nicholas Ma, who also directed the documentary “Leap of Faith” and produced “Won’t You Be My Neighbor.” And it was co-written by Joy Goodwin, who also produced “The Winning Season.” And even through its flaws, it’s still a green and healthy film running for about 80 minutes and featuring terrific work from Perkel, Ko, Greer, and Marano. There are emotions channeled through the characters, and we’re interested to see the outcome. How they deal with their problems and how they keep going with their passion projects are both essential to the film.

Even coming-of-age films can feature plants as therapy for the main heroine, and maybe that element should work in the next film of the genre. Just as long as they don’t buy $400 of more plants.

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