subject: Watch Girl In Progress Movie Online Free Review [print this page] Girl in Progress actively discourages thoughtGirl in Progress actively discourages thought. Patricia Riggen's film believes it's being clever by overtly discussing its thematic structure through the story of Ansiedad (Cierra Ramirez), a teenager who, frustrated with her absentee single mom, Grace (Eva Mendes), decides to take a page from her English class lesson and actively live out a clichd coming-of-age story. That process, which she discusses out loud ad infinitum, involves first positioning herself as a goody-two-shoes nerd, and then sabotaging her future by alienating heavyset best friend Tavita (Raini Rodriguez), hanging out with the wrong crowd, and losing her virginity to the local bad boy (Richard Harmon).
Such cutesiness is obnoxious enough, but it's compounded by the more basic idiocy of this plan, which is made even stupider by the fact that Ansiedad is supposedly bright. Still, making matters far, far more insufferable are the regular classroom interludes in which Ansiedad's teacher, Ms. Armstrong (Patricia Arquette), defines and discusses, in order, "coming of age stories," "rites of passage," "epiphanies," and finally, the nature of "adult vs. child" tensionsa recurring device that Riggen wields with such hand-holding gracelessness that Girl in Progress operates like a training-wheels melodrama for genre-uneducated tweens. Ansiedad's path to womanhood is mirrored by that of Grace, who rebelled against her own never-around mom at 17 (lookout, incoming generational behavior parallels!), and now scrapes by as a waitress at a clam shackwhere, so help us all, they're holding a contest for most responsible employeewhile continuing a clearly unwise affair with married gynecologist Dr. Harford (Matthew Modine).
Girl in Progress's scenarios are clichd through and through, and Mendes and Ramirez don't manage a single subtle moment between them. Yet it's Hiram Martinez's script that truly sinks the action into abject corniness, partaking in solitary tears down cheeks, hysterical confrontations between friends and over-the-top humiliations from enemies, and, ultimately, Ansiedad pointing out to Dr. Harford and his frigid wife that their son needs glasses, a fact that she can glean from his writing with his nose pressed against the page, but which they, as befitting all adults in this mushy saga, are too self-absorbed to notice. A potential romance between Grace and busboy Mission (Eugenio Derbez) is as phony as the climactic suggestion that one of the main characters might actually die, since what the film really has in mind is just an everyone-grows-up happily-ever-after that, naturally, it chooses to spell out via Arquette's narration, which is so obvious it's downright juvenile.
Grace (Eva Mendes) is a single mom. She is too busy juggling work, bills, and the very married Dr. Hartford (Matthew Modine), to give her daughter, Ansiedad (Cierra Ramirez) the attention she desperately needs. When Ansiedad's English teacher, Ms. Armstrong (Patricia Arquette), introduces her students to classic coming-of-age stories, Ansiedad is inspired to skip adolescence and jump-start her life without mom. While Grace becomes preoccupied with the increasing affections of her co-worker (Eugenio Derbez), Ansiedad enlists the help of her loyal friend, Tavita (Raini Rodriguez), 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.Can a single tone-deaf, wince-inducing joke, even one that's repeated, kill a movie? No. Not a good film. But a marginal one that has trouble finding its tone? Let's just say wisecracks about spouse abuse don't help Girl in Progress.
Progress is a coming-of-age story about a smart and smart-alecky teen (newcomer Cierra Ramirez) who researches coming-of-age/rites-of-passage tales and decides she'll speed up the process of growing up. All to escape her frazzled, disorganized and self-absorbed mom (Eva Mendes).Grace, the mom, didn't do her daughter any favors naming her Ansiedad. It means "anxiety." So even though the girl has grown up very smart -- every class project becomes a multimedia presentation -- she's inclined to use her intelligence to mock her too-sexy/too-scatterbrained mom. Who dropped out of high school. Who didn't marry and doesn't even know who Ansiedad's dad is. Who makes lousy choices in boyfriends and has limited career prospects. Who never follows through on any big plans to get them out of their lower-class place in life.So Ansiedad, inspired by her English teacher (Patricia Arquette), and conferring with her plump social-outcast pal Tavita (Raini Rodriguez), develops a checklist that seems to have come from the teen films of John Hughes. Become a star at something intellectual and nerdy (chess), then turn your back on it. Inspire, then disappoint a teacher who "sees something special in you." Fall in with the "bad girls." Ditch your socially awkward best friend.Watch free movies online
And lose your virginity, preferably to a "bad boy."These steps are meant to be played for laughs. But Ramirez and her co-stars can't find the funny in them.Mendes, sexy as ever, never quite rises to the level of neglect that would have made Grace funny, or at least somebody we could root against.The milieu and overarching themes -- don't try to grow up too fast, be true to your true friends, smart people should make smart choices -- work. The Seattle settings fit. But the movie has problems making those ingredients pay off.Ansiedad is on scholarship at a high-class private school while mom works in the Crab Shack, sneaks around with a married gynecologist (Matthew Modine) and avoids the attentions of the restaurant busboy whom Ansiedad is teaching to write and has nicknamed "Mission: Impossible."The boss of the joint (Russell Peters) is meant to be a tactless, clueless jerk. But the first time he cracks about why he can't rely on one waitress because she gets "slapped around at home" is one time too many. Surely director Patricia Riggen ( Under the Same Moon) realized that and could have demanded something else from tin-eared screenwriter Hiram Martinez.
I recently had the pleasure of pre-screeing a wonderful coming of age movie, titled Girl in Progress, starring Eva Mendes and Matthew Modine as well as new-comer Cierra Ramirez. Eva plays the role of a single mother, Grace, trying to make ends meet while trying to ensure that her daughter, Ansiedad, has the life she never had. This leads to long hours at work for mom and a "latch key" lifestyle for the daughter. To complicate things a little more Grace is also struggling with relationships along with her own immaturity. All of which compounds Ansiedad's need for attention.The pivotal moment for Ansiedad begins when a coming of age lesson is discussed during English class. It is this lesson that sparks Ansiedad's own journey into trying to jump start her life of adulthood. Along the way Ansiedad's plans don't go quite as she had planned and the real life lessons begin - for both Ansiedad and Grace.Of the several movies I've had the honor to preview I would have to say that this is by far the best. I strongly urge everyone to go see this movie. It opens in theaters on May 11th - just in time for Mother's Day - in the following cities:
