GIRL IN PROGRESS (2012)

Genre: Comedy/Drama
Director: Patricia Riggen
Cast: Eva Mendes, Cierra Ramirez, Patricia Arquette, Matthew Modine, Eugenio Derbez
RunTime: 1 hr 28 mins
Rating: PG (Some Sexual References)
Released By:  Cathay-Keris Films
Official Website: 

Opening Day: 23 August 2012

Synopsis:  Grace is a single mum. She is too busy juggling work, bills, and the very married Dr. Harford, to give her daughter, Ansiedad, the attention she desperately needs. When Ansiedad's English teacher, Ms. Armstrong, introduces her students to classic coming-of-age stories, Ansiedad is inspired to skip adolescence and jump-start her life without mum. While Grace becomes preoccupied with the increasing affections of her co-worker, Ansiedad enlists the help of her loyal friend, Tavita, to plot her shortcut to "adulthood". But as her misguided plan unravels, Ansiedad and Grace must learn that sometimes growing-up means acting your age.

Movie Review:

There is an interesting twist to this coming-of-age tale of a Hispanic kid with a supposedly unpronounceable name Ansiedad – in both word and deed, she’s already pretty much an adult. That precociousness however turns out to be a stumbling block when she is confronted with adolescence – she doesn’t yet realise she’s attained the maturity of an adult without having to go through the requisite growing pains. Ironically therefore, Ansiedad manufactures her own stages of growing up just so she can reaffirm her psychological maturity.

It doesn’t take much for your heart to go out to her – instead of being the one cared for, she is literally the caretaker of her mother, Grace (Eva Mendes), who is slumming her life away by having a love affair with a married doctor (Matthew Modine) and leaving all the other responsibilities of life to Ansiedad. So there are really two coming-of-tales here – one, Ansiedad herself; and two, her mother Grace – and you’ve probably seen enough of such Hollywood fables to know that both mother and daughter will learn the folly of their ways and change for the better.

Sure despite the nifty twist mentioned above, screenwriter Hiram Martinez largely sticks to well-worn clichés as the story unfolds – though having Ansiedad chart out these obligatory stages of her planned teenage rebellion seems to be a signal to the audience that the movie is smarter than the conventions it follows. Geared as it is towards a family-friendly audience, the portrayal of Ansiedad’s defiant behaviour (such as pretending to dump her overweight best friend, befriending the popular but mean girls at school and losing her virginity) stays safely within PG territory, so parents need not worry about their own teenagers emulating her ways.

Playing it safe of course means that you never quite get the sense that Ansiedad would get into the sort of trouble she won’t eventually be able to wiggle out of, but clearly this Pantelion film isn’t meant to be something like Anne Hathaway’s ‘Havoc’. Instead, director Patricia Riggen operates within the constraints of what presumably came from the brief of Pantelion – a joint venture between US-based studio Lionsgate and Mexican entertainment giant Televisa – and delivers an breezy and enjoyable enough affair that the whole family can partake in.

Riggen is particularly enabled by the stellar performances of her Latino stars, Eva Mendes and Cierra Ramirez. Typecast as the sexpot, Mendes gets to show off her acting chops in a more complex role than those she usually gets in big-budget Hollywood franchises, and she handles her character’s emotional beats admirably. Ramirez however is truly a revelation, embodying both the awkwardness as well as the confidence of her character at different points in the movie, and delivering a spunky energetic performance.

As a teen drama, ‘Girl in Progress’ doesn’t quite break new ground for the genre, but it is still smart and sensitive enough to please those who can’t quite get enough of the mother-and-daughter bonding tale. It also moves along at a zippy pace, so even if it doesn’t pack much originality, at no point does the story in progress end up stalling. Most importantly perhaps, it is a sincere story of hope, redemption and the comfort of family – and that’s the message that will leave a smile on your face when it’s over. 

Movie Rating:

(Familiar but well-told tale that trots out all the clichés of a coming-of-age story, yet proves to be entertaining and reaffirming for those who like such fables)

Review by Gabriel Chong