Mistress America (2015)

If I knew her I wish I would be dead too. She follows around a person who is very unlikable. In the end you find most of the characters in this movie are very unlikable. I wouldn't want any of them to be my friends. These are people that you here about in college that are only in to them selves. Shame on you for being rich. Shame on you for having morals. Shame on you for having religion. Shame on you for caring about something. They ask questions that mean absolutely nothing about the subject because they think they have some intellectual superiority. Do not watch this movie. Or if you have kids that are going to college. Watch this movie. This is what they will become.

Thoroughly enjoyed this slice-of-life, coming-of-age, comedy/drama. The dialogue is so well written that you feel as though you are eavesdropping on the would-be sisters. The opposite personalities of the characters works so well to illustrate 2 different ways to approach life, the younger woman proceeding with caution, the older without fear. Both actresses, Greta Gerwig and Lola Kirke embody their characters with a naturalness that is rare. The fringe characters were well developed too. They were essential as glue to hold the storyline together. The males in the film were real people, not what Hollywood writers think men are supposed to be. If you enjoy Woody Allen-like fast paced, intelligent dialogue, then this is a must see.

There are several reasons why Mistress America may be considered a wonderful movie. It doesn't take itself too seriously, and has a very sophisticated sense of humour. The main actors all have exaggerated characters that always behave in certain ways (kind of like the cast in The Office) -- and the actors play these roles to perfection.The writing and delivery of dialogue in the climax of the film is particularly amazing, with fast, witty exchanges filled with little jokes. Yet, the movie vacillates from hilarity to melancholy without warning the viewer, which makes the film all the more special.The depiction of and commentary on NYC, youth, etc. is all spot on, making this movie worth the watch.Finally, the soundtrack is excellent too, giving the movie a very alt/indie feel. Many negative reviewers sadly fail to appreciate the sophisticated writing and humour, along with the truly wonderful job that the lead actors have done in this unpretentious flick.

Over the years, I've liked some of Noah Baumbach's films, but not others, and this one I'm sorry to say was disappointing. Here, Baumbach directed and co-wrote the script with Greta Gerwig.The underrated and most talented Gerwig also stars in the movie as Brooke, a free spirit who's leading a whirlwind of a life, with a myriad of part-time jobs but looking to close a deal on a new restaurant, in the Williamsburg section of NYC.Lola Kirke co-stars here and gives a fine performance as Tracy, a first year college student at Barnard, aspiring to be a writer but having loads of problems fitting in on campus. Brooke and Tracy are slated to be step sisters when Brooke's father and Tracy's mother marry in the near future.Thus, when Tracy, at the urging of her mother, calls Brooke and they meet for the first time in Manhattan, Tracy finds herself willingly caught up in the cyclone of Brooke's life. Tracy even finds herself using Brooke as inspiration for her short story that she submits to the prestigious Mobius Literary Society at her college.All of this seems well and good, but for me the problem with the movie is in the dialogue, which often came across to me as mostly pretentious, whiny, and even mean-spirited at times. Thus, the characters that emerged were so shallow and self-absorbed that I mostly lost interest in what would happen to any of them. When that happens to me as I view a film, I start checking the time wondering when it will be finally over.Overall, Gerwig and Kirke are solid here, with many actors in supporting roles adding much as well. However, as mentioned the occasional clever or humorous line was overshadowed by dialogue that came across to me as affected and pretentious, leading to surfacy and shallow characters.