Girl in Progress
[youtube=http://youtu.be/NCqzkNl2gXI]
Tagline: Lessons in motherhood. Taught by a Kid.
Grace (Eva Mendes) is a single mother, too busy juggling work, bills, and a married Dr. Hartford (Matthew Modine), to offer her daughter Ansiedad (Cierra Ramirez) the attention she desperately needs. Yet thanks to an inspiring English teacher, Ms. Armstrong (Patricia Arquette), who introduces her students to coming-of-age tales, Ansiedad is inspired to try and begin her life without mom.
As with Dark Shadows, the reviewers aren’t particularly enamored (perhaps they’re suffering from Avengers withdrawal). “Unconvincing, flawed matriarch Mendes and junior showboat Ramirez appear to be acting in entirely different movies,” is the opinion of the Village Voice. “There’s little to complain about here, but there’s also little to cheer about. Benignly enjoyable during viewing, the production ultimately takes too few risks,” concludes Paste. But New York magazine is more of a fan, first making the good point that Girl in Progress is “likely the first coming-of-age story centering on a girl who learns in class what a coming-of-age story is and meticulously designs her own,” before summing up that “it has the unpretentious energy and charm of a good YA girls’ novel.”
LIST: TIME’s Top 10 Films of 2011
NewsFeed’s Flicks Pick: Most people will probably go see the Avengers (perhaps for a second time) but if we had to stick our neck out, we’d go for Dark Shadows from our two choices.