Girl in Progress (2012) User Reviews

'Coming-of-age' theme that talks about the 'Coming-of-age'.

[Reno-Rangan · 6/10 · 22 July 2014]

This comedy-drama about the Mexican family living in America talks about a girl who wants to be an adult in a short period of time. With the usual teen comedy, the story goes all around showcasing a girlie side of mischievous behavior. This was not a great teen movie, but acceptable. It's just letting us know what happen when teens are not supervised carefully by their parents. Clearly to say, it briefs the differences between maturity and the word opposite to that.

A struggling poor family of mother-daughter's life is not getting better, instead becomes worse everyday. Grace (Eva Mendis) has been busy all day between her two jobs and a relationship with a married which put her daughter, Annsiedad in a negligence state. Since Annsiedad's mother is not giving any attention towards her, she grows a rebellious character within. One day she decides to become an adult by discarding all the childish character in her once she had experienced them all. So she makes a list to encounter 'coming-of-age' and leave behind her childhood. The plan won't end, according to she arranged. Takes a diverted path and the conclusion of the story is what delivers a message for parents who is so careless of their children.

''So now I'm free to fly. And I hop on a bus to adult-ville. My coming of age story is complete. Roll end credits. Bring up the house light. I am not a kid anymore.''

The whole first half was like a silly teen movie with usual narration and there is nothing special about it to highlight. The humors that is not really funny kind of stuffs. Maybe we get used to it for seeing in every teen movie. The last quarter is what makes the sense, a lesson is to learn from it, for that you have to watch the whole movie. Teens want everything to be done so quickly, slow and steady is not meant for them. In such a concept this movie happens which reminds a proverb 'Rome was not built in a day'. The casting was good, both, the mother character played by Eva Mendis and her daughter's was shelved very well. After seeing a fair end scene I thought the script should have had a little stronger in the initial portions to balance its overall strength. Anyway, an average movie, but can be enjoyed if you are not too serious about what you want to watch.

Quite funny in parts - Eva is brilliant

[phd_travel · 7/10 · 30 May 2013]

For those who remember Cher and Winona Ryder in Mermaids and liked it, this is an updated Hispanic irresponsible mother and cry for help daughter comedy. There are some laugh out loud moments. The drama and comedy don't blend that smoothly as hoped but overall it's a cute story.

The performances are good. Eva is funny and touching. She is a great comedienne and very convincing in the more serious moments. It's nice to see her in a real latina role speaking Spanish. She is believable showing blue collar struggles - much more than Jennifer Lopez.

Strange casting of Matthew Modine as the married cad who romances Eva's character. He is usually the good guy so it's a bit strange to see him in the role.

Overall it isn't has polished as Mermaids but it's worth a watch.

Knock-off

[SharDBear · 6/10 · 12 May 2023]

I feel this is a knock-off from Spanglish. Which, that was a far better movie.

However, this was a good movie as well, with its own struggles and such.

I don't know why reviews has to be so dang long.

Girl in Progress, is a good movie. So go ahead and watch it. What more can I say?

I suppose returns and extra spaces don't Makena difference in any if this??

No, it doesn't. So I will keep rambling.

I'm fortunate to know my mother never consumed her time in different men. Where I got that habit from is beyond me. Maybe because all I wanted in life was to be loved, needed and feel wanted.

Characters met, have a nice night.

Really, Really Slow Progress

[Chris_Pandolfi · 4/10 · 11 May 2012]

The idea of a teenage daughter rebelling against her mother under the guise of gaining independence is compelling. The fatal flaw of "Girl in Progress" is that this idea is not taken seriously until the final act, at which point we've been so turned off by the plot and characters that we no longer care. It really is shocking how badly this movie is structured and how poorly the characters are developed; what should have been a poignant and insightful generational story has been reduced to an implausible and inconsistent mess. It starts out at the level of a second-rate sitcom, one that makes the dread mistake of believing the jokes it's telling are actually funny. It then makes a wild shift in tone and becomes shamelessly sentimental. This is not to suggest that it turns dour and depressing; it simply becomes mechanical, with all the emotional loose ends tied up into neat little knots.

Taking place in Seattle, it tells the story of a teenager named Ansiedad (Cierra Ramirez) and her mother, Grace (Eva Mendes), who got pregnant at seventeen, was kicked out of the house by her tyrannical mother, never finished high school, never got married, and now works as both a maid and a waitress in a seafood shack. She talks the talk about going back to night school, getting her diploma, and moving towards a computer career. That's actually the reason she and Ansiedad moved to the Pacific Northwest in the first place. The thing is, they have moved numerous times in the past several years. And Grace is no closer to starting night school. What's the holdup? Basically, she has refused to grow up. She has had several men in her life and is currently dating a married gynecologist (Matthew Modine). One could make the case that she's fun to be around, but she really isn't there for Ansiedad the way a parent should be.

Ansiedad, obviously aware of her mother's caviler attitude about everything, rebels in school by making inappropriate class presentations. Then her English teacher (Patricia Arquette) introduces to her the concept of the coming-of-age story, and this is the point at which the film goes spectacularly wrong. In learning about such stories, in which a character or set of characters transitions from childhood to adulthood, Ansiedad decides that she has been a kid long enough and that she must accelerate her journey towards maturity and independence. She researches coming-of-age stories extensively, especially in regards to the formula they tend to follow. From that, she compiles a list of life experiences that she must go. She then makes a creative-looking arrow chart and enlists her best friend, Tavita (Raini Rodriguez), to help her cross every item off the list.

In following it, Ansiedad proves she knows absolutely nothing about authentic coming-of-age stories. Her methods are cruel, manipulative, dangerous, and quite frankly, stupid. Had director Patricia Riggen and screenwriter Hiram Martinez been aware of this, perhaps this plot device would have worked. Alas, they initially treat it as a lighthearted comedy routine. Essentially, she believes she must go from being a "good girl" to a "bad girl," at which point she will miraculously come out the other side an adult. On the journey, she will join the chess club, dress nerdy, provoke the mean girl, manipulate her into friendship, start dressing as a bad girl, lose interest in school, catch the attention of the one boy who's a womanizing jerk, and ultimately lose her virginity to him. She will also pretend to dump Tavita by making fun of her weight and sneak into a nursing home just so that she can claim sickly old woman as her grandmother.

Ansiedad is so desperate to go through these life experiences that she will steal money from her mother, lie to authority figures, and intentionally ruin her reputation. How could anyone in their right minds believe this to be suitable material for a comedy? This is just tactless and insensitive. This story needed to be in the hands of filmmakers who actually understand people, teenagers and adults alike. The characters in this story are about as authentic as three-dollar bills. By the time we reach the final act, at which point it becomes a bit more dramatic, the damage has already been done. We no longer have it within us to like them, or even to invest in them for dramatic purposes.

Grace is the subject of a silly and barely developed subplot involving suddenly becoming the manager of the seafood shack and a busboy-turned-waiter nicknamed Mission Impossible (Eugenio Derbez), who can barely speak English but clearly has a thing for Grace. He does something for her, something that largely exists only in movies like this. His promise to correct his mistake is even less believable, if such a thing was even possible. Meanwhile, Grace continues to see her married lover on the sly, eventually figuring out that he's a sleazebag. We, of course, had figured that out as early as the first scene. If "Girl in Progress" is what counts for a coming-of-age story nowadays, we might be forced to go back to the drawing board. Its title isn't even deserving of the word "progress."

-- Chris Pandolfi (www.atatheaternearyou.net)

Obnoxious Teen Tantrum: The Movie

[darkness_visible · 8 September 2012]

Good lord, where is a Final Destination style Heath Robinson teen kill when you really need it? Generally I love meta movies in the form of "If this were an (insert genre) this would happen", in this case Bildungsroman, but this one contrived to be so utterly devoid of charm or wit that I just about wanted to slit my wrists. And the sad thing is that the ingredients available were so great - Eva Mendes + Patricia Arquette + Matthew Modine = YES PLEASE!!! The only problem was that the role given to the teen actress protagonist was absolutely unbearable. I don't mean any disrespect to the actress because she committed to the role 100% - it was the fault of the writer and director. What could have been heartwarming and cathartic (like Easy A for example) ended up being a great big nerve-grating, embarrassing snorefest. 3 out of 10 because I'm feeling generous.

Bullying

[bluedivadesi · 6/10 · 25 June 2019]

Val I don't like the clothes you wear did your parents say you can wear that. Would you wear that stuff to a job interview. Your best friend is different than you and ansiedad never made fun of that. You should get help Val. You're a bully but I should have told Ansiedad to to make fun of Shannons skin skin color instead of Tavitas weight.

If only we had a character that was likable...

[StevePulaski · 3/10 · 12 September 2012]

Girl in Progress revolves around Ansiedad (Cierra Ramirez), a young adolescent with a mother too busy juggling two jobs and dozens of relationships to give her attention. One day at school, young Ansiedad - who goes by Ann, most of the time - learns about "coming of age" stories from her teacher. She becomes instantly inspired, researching anything and everything about them, and finally memorizes the formula well enough to make an attempt to have her life follow the basic route of one of those stories. She posts all the clichés like "excel at something geeky," "become the bad girl," and "dump best friend," who in this case happens to be the overweight Tavita (Raini Rodriguez).

Ann's mother is Eva Mendez's Grace, a very conceded, uninvolved woman of many low qualities. She got pregnant at seventeen, was kicked out of the house by her strict mother, never got married, and spends time dating numerous men. She is mostly absent while Ann embarks on this conquest, only turning up to vaguely question her daughter's recent behavior, before going back to doing what she was originally doing. But hey, this is a coming of age story, so I guess it's just following the rules. Right? Grace is also dating a married gynecologist (Matthew Modine), spending more time with him than her daughter, so I guess maybe it's best that Ann seek out other people to influence her besides her mother.

We've all seen this idea before. The only difference is we've seen it with more heart, energy, and self-awareness than this film has to offer. There are films like Easy A and Juno, that inject themselves with witticisms and insight into the teenage life, never mocking it or festering in clichés, but satirizing the clichés commonly utilized in modern-day coming of age stories. Then, there are those rare and unpleasant experiences like Girl in Progress that simplify the core story here; the complex relationship between the mother and the daughter. We see the daughter spend the entire movie going through this tireless phase of rebellion and we see her desperately try to win back her mother's attention away from her countless number of boyfriends.

The picture's main flaw is it lacks a single compelling character that we feel for and want to watch for more than just a few minutes. Ann is a spoiled brat who often goes undisciplined (and I simply can not forgive her for being an adolescent and being hormonal - maybe if she packed more of an urgency than just, "I want my mom to notice me" perhaps I could've), Grace is the kind of mother I'm blessed to not have, and her boyfriend is faceless and unimportant in every way.

This is what you call "a big screen sitcom." Instead of making a film centered truly depicting the lives of teenagers with interesting, redeemable qualities, the filmmakers of Girl in Progress seem to believe it would be more fun to make a film centered around depressingly bland teenage conventions set not for the big screen but more for a Television movie network. The first act is instantaneously stale, the second doesn't fair much better, and the third act concludes with a mechanical exit that feels over-plotted and under-executed. Perhaps if we had a character that was at least in some aspects likable, this wouldn't have happened.

NOTE: Girl in Progress was released on Mother's Day weekend and was marketed as a film for mothers and their daughters to see. I can only imagine the awkward, unprecedented bleakness such a well-meaning move probably played out. There are better films that tackle the same struggle of adolescent confusion. I'd start with Catherine Hardwicke's Thirteen and go from there.

Starring: Eva Mendes, Cierra Ramirez, Matthew Modine, Patricia Arquette, Eugenio Derbez, and Rani Rodriguez. Directed by: Patricia Riggen.

A coming-of-age story told by the book is good, smart and enjoyable

[napierslogs · 7/10 · 14 January 2013]

Coming-of-age films are a dime-a-dozen and, surprisingly, good coming- of-age films are also a dime-a-dozen – providing they have the right hook and the right leading teenager. That's exactly why "Girl in Progress" can neatly fit itself in-line with other memorable and good, but not great, teenage girl films. Ansiedad (Cierra Ramirez) is a snarky teenager, fed up with her immature mother (for good reason) and rebels at home and at school because she's got nothing better to do.

The single mother, Grace (Eva Mendes), goes from one married man to another, to a new town, and from same old waitressing and maid jobs to another. Mendes isn't great but then again her character is as selfish, immature, self-absorbed and superficial as one can get. The daughter, Ansiedad, has been described as mean, manipulative and stupid, just like how angst-ridden teenagers can be. It worked here, since in the beginning at least, her many negative attributes were presented humorously, and given her age she isn't supposed to be as mature or responsible as her mother.

The hook, though, is what really elevates "Girl in Progress" to "good". In school, Ansiedad's teacher (Patricia Arquette) is educating the students on coming-of-age stories. Where, through a series of events, teenagers essentially become adults. This is exactly what Ansiedad wants, and she is fairly perceptive, so she is able to write out the various situations that the teenagers in all the stories experience in order to become adults. A manual for coming-of-age stories explained in a coming-of-age film.

Ansiedad follows it to the letter, even shortening her name to Anne, but of course, the maturation process is not something that can be mapped out. The tone of the film becomes uneven when we switch from humorous to sentimental when Anne becomes frustrated when she is not yet an adult. But that's the type of frustration that audiences should relate to rather than just getting annoyed by.

Grace's married man of the month is Dr. Harford (Matthew Modine). He is of course sly, unscrupulous and dishonest but the writing of the character and Modine made him worth your time. Dr. Harford is also smart, smarter than Grace, and he allows for both an unlikable character to remain unlikable and to have an unlikable character as the catalyst for change. The supporting characters, like him, and the hook make "Girl in Progress" both likable and smart. Relatively, speaking.

Girl in Progress

[oOoBarracuda · 3/10 · 16 May 2016]

Some films are beautifully understated in their power and presence and resonate with audiences for years to come, then, there are films like Girl in Progress. The 2012 film by Patricia Riggen was completely contrived in its use of clichés, even though the point of the film was supposed to be to poke holes in clichés. Eva Mendes & Patricia Arquette join with Cierra Ramirez to expose the lengths a child will go to escape a disinterested parent and speed their own maturity and growth. Mother/daughter relationships aren't always the seamless pinnacle of female bonding and connection that we often imagine, as Girl in Progress painfully proves.

Grace (Eva Mendes) stars as a self-absorbed spoiled single mother who had a child when she was still very young herself and refused to put her child first until she almost lost her. Ansiedad (Cierra Ramirez) is a young girl who is dragged around from city to city on her mother's whim unable to settle down and root herself in any one place. To make matters worse, Ansiedad, a full-time high school student is also the sole caretaker of the home she shares with her mother. The cook, the maid, and her mother's personal assistant, Ansiedad is often left to her own devices at nights when her mother leaves to pursue her many male suitors. One day, in English class, Ansiedad is inspired to write her own coming-of-age story. She writes a fool-proof plan that will result in her inevitable maturity and enough life resources to leave her absent mother. Her only ally, her English teacher Ms. Armstrong (Patricia Arquette) attempts to help her along the way, as much as a teacher can and eventually reaches the child to help her realize that experiencing a series of events in a prescribed order will not automatically bring about maturity. Along this journey, when she finds the time, Grace attempts to repair the damage done to her and her daughter's relationship.

This film had a very Lifetime network feel to it, taking an hour and a half to illustrate the very obvious points that you cannot plan out your life, and no one really knows that they're doing while on earth. Taking so much time to demean the use of clichés while simultaneously using them was a filmmaking decision that fell flat. Skip this journey of mother/daughter bonding, you're not missing anything.

Surprisingly Good

[cultfilmfreaksdotcom · 6/10 · 1 January 2013]

CABIN IN THE WOODS has a group of kids unknowingly forced into a slasher film setting, becoming victims of other people's whim. Ansiedad, our lovely protagonist, uses the same concept with a different genre and is in complete control of the situation, almost.

In an attempt to mirror the plot-points of Coming-Of-Age novels, she intentionally lives the life of a good girl who progressively turns bad and, like in the books, sets up a character-arc by becoming a geek in the Club and then befriending the mean-spirited popular girls; going to parties; and hooking up with a rebellious womanizer.

Not all of these plans are carried through, and along the way she burns bridges not intended: like hurting her overweight best friend and distancing herself even more from her single mother Grace, played by Eva Mendes, a sexy working-class free-spirit having an affair with a married man.

Not sure whether it's a quirky JUNO type indie holding back or a mainstream flick with an edge, the film lacks focus while the over-opinionated teen gets annoying. She knows too much for her (and our) own good. Thankfully there's Grace… working at a Crab restaurant and trying to keep her affair alive… to even things out, but even her tale feels clichéd and, eventually, predictable.

But despite the flaws, the actresses (including Patricia Arquette as an English teacher) try their best make it work.

It takes a while, but it gets there.

[rlgsxjunox45 · 5/10 · 24 June 2013]

Now I know, you're already scrolling by this review thinking "She gave it a five, it must suck." Don't do that. I'm giving this movie a five for three reasons.

One) It's slow to start. You never really feel anything for the characters until late in the middle. The only character that you actually feel compassion towards is Tavita (Raini Rodriguez). At least, that's how it was for me. For a long time, you're watching the movie but you're not really invested and you're only vaguely interested in what might happen next.

Two) Some of the plot lines, like many in Hollywood, are a little far fetched. The entire Crab Shack is ridiculous because no self respecting owner would leave "all he has" to a woman he doesn't 100% trust. The theft was ridiculous as well. (Including the way "Mission Impossible" "solves" it.) The party scene with the movie's "mean girl" was a little out there (and by a little, I mean, in what world would an entire party throw drinks on a girl for having sex?)

Three) Every time it would have a moment that you think "Dang, that was actually pretty moving" or "Wow, that was some impressive acting" it gets ruined moments later by an needless line or sequence. For instance, near the end when Grace is pulling Ansiedad off the bus, it's fantastic. The line "I'm not letting you go" is powerful and Eva delivers it beautifully. But then the seemingly endless chase scene takes away from the overall impact of the fight and resolution.

Even after these three faults in the movie, I enjoyed it. I think Eva was fantastic as a mother who doesn't quite have it together. There were scenes that brought a tear to my eye and that made me laugh.

The star players were Eva Mendes, Patricia Arquette, and Raini Rodriguez. There were some moments where Cierra Ramirez really nailed the misunderstood teenager, and others where she kind of made you cringe.

Overall, I would watch this movie again. I might even buy it, if I found it in the 5 dollar bin at Walmart. Is it award worthy? No. Will it change your life? Probably not. But it does have some heart and some humor.

Great movie, nice twist on the classic coming of theme

[Nuni5546 · 8/10 · 3 September 2012]

I watched this movie last night and thought it was a great movie.

The movie starts off slow and a bit quirky. At times it even feels like it is trying to hard to be something its not. Then somewhere in the middle, it drops the quirky and the story develops. I became invested and began to care for the characters.

The acting was good. Both main actresses do a great job in their roles as mother and daughter. As an educator myself, I see these types of mothers and daughters almost every school year. It was nice seeing their story be told and also one from Latin roots.

I would recommend this movie because at the end of it all, you leave the movie with some thoughts and emotions tied to the characters.

Good film.

changes in tones jarring

[SnoopyStyle · 5/10 · 23 March 2015]

Ansiedad (Cierra Ramirez) is tired of her irresponsible mother Grace (Eva Mendes) especially her affair with the married Dr. Harford (Matthew Modine). Her only friend at school is Tavita (Raini Rodriguez). After a lesson from English teacher Ms. Armstrong (Patricia Arquette), she decides to perform her version of rites of passage. She befriends bad girl Valerie (Brenna O'Brien) and dumps Tavita. Her ultimate goal is to lose her virginity to bad boy Trevor (Landon Liboiron) and run away to NYC. Grace's boss Emile (Russell Peters) is looking to cook at the Crab Fest competition but he's reluctant to leave her in charge of his restaurant.

The concept is interesting. It kind of reminds of 'The To Do List' except Ramirez is a real teen. I expected this to be a comedy but then it takes jarring turns into dark drama. The production by Mexican director Patricia Riggen is TV level with some good actors. Patricia Arquette showing up surprised me a little. I like the characters in this movie but I couldn't get a handle on its tone. It seems to be a light kid's movie at first but then it throws some very adult situations.

Girl in search of popularity

[adi_2002 · 5/10 · 12 May 2016]

A young and cute teen girl wants to become a woman and will do anything to achieve it even betray her best friend who is unattractive. She wants to stay with the cool girl in her high-school but this does not come for free and she must provide alcohol for them and the party or give them hall-passes. in the mean time her mother struggles at her workplace and face the stress that she has every day being a waitress at a restaurant with impatient and demanding customers. She also has a secret adventure with the man for witch she works as a maid.

An medium drama I would say, the film is quite frustrating at one time and becomes modest but I manage to see it without interruptions. It is good for a drama but for the story is just ordinary, I have seen this kind mother-daughter relationship in other movies. So view it if you want to fill your time in one afternoon specially if it rains outside, then the movie becomes more bearable.

1000 reasons why it should not work .. BUT IT DOES!

[A_Different_Drummer · 9/10 · 4 July 2015]

Yes, I am aware that some members gave this film a low rating. They were wrong. No disrespect. Wrong happens.

1000 reasons why this "coming of age" vehicle should not have worked. Including the fact that it has been done before, hundreds of times, and this was yet another "Canadian" production (supported by the Canadian tax system) meant for the small screen and not really intended for an A-List rollout.

But sometimes everything comes together and you end up with an exceptional result:

* the script is superb. It is not enough that the daughter wants to accelerate her "coming of age" to rebel against her mother, she actually researches the topic and deconstructs it, creating a roadmap to maturity which of course is a roadmap to disaster. Clever! And innovative.

* the acting is to die for. Eva Mendes may give the best performance of her life here. Cierra Ramirez steals every scene not otherwise nailed down and several that are. Arquette as the sympathetic school teacher sells it bigtime and makes us all wish we had a teacher like that in school.

Really a great film, one that succeeds way beyond its aspirations. It is ironic that, for example, this reviewer took flak from members for ripping apart THE DUFF (a horrific A-List movie) but little gems like this often get lost in the shuffle.

Highly recommended.

What a beautiful, sensitive change!

[rawiri42 · 8/10 · 5 December 2012]

Girl in _Progress is actually a very simple, straightforward story about a young girl doing her best to cope with her own adolescence as well as her not-much-older mother who, in actual fact, is doing almost the same thing. Due to her history (harsh, non-understanding mother), Grace (Eva Mendes), is desperately trying to find the love that she didn't get when she was Amiestad's age - and why shouldn't she?

I suspect that this movie is a lot closer to real life than a lot of viewers realise. Teenagers forget that their parents have given them the very best years of their lives form the time they were born right up to the time they think they know everything - and then some more! Fortunately Amiestad realises this a lot sooner than many kids her age but not before hurting her bet friend unforgivably (even though her best friend DOES forgive her!)

In this film, mother is only about 34 or 35 and still a beautiful woman who has the very same needs as her daughter - although her daughter (initially) totally fails to recognise that fact. Like many teenagers, she thinks that the world revolves around her - but it doesn't and, at least in this movie, she finds out before it's too late.

I would suggest that this should be compulsory viewing for all adolescent kids but I fear that, in a lot of cases, they would shrug their shoulders and just say, "Whatever!"

As Ned Kelly said when told he was to be hanged at ten o'clock the next morning, "Such is life!"

So Beyond In Love With This Movie

[pauveguy0415 · 10/10 · 3 September 2012]

This is my first movie review so forgive me for being brief and straight to the point.

This movie made me laugh, cry, shout and who knows what else lol. It is the absolute perfect coming of age movie with a nice twist. Instead of it just happening for the young main character, she decides to create her own way into what she considers to be adulthood. Little does she know is that life doesn't.. No life can't really work out that way. There is a little unexpected twist at the end, but I absolutely love that. Although not everything in the mother and daughters lives aren't as picture perfect as any movie ending can be, it ends so beautifully and with just the right amount of 'feel good' resolution that you want from a happy ending. GAAAH. Watch this movie. Rent it. Buy it. I would consider it this generations new Breakfast Club. The perfect teen stereotype, movie stereotype, girl coming of age stereotype movie. Sigh. Seriously. Watch it.

A Sentimental Family Movie

[gpknopp · 8/10 · 19 October 2012]

This is a well-scripted and sincerely acted family movie, devoid of profanity. I will leave it to other parents to decide whether it is effective, but in light of the trash that we are sold as cinema, here is a sweet movie that attempts to convey the difficulties that teenagers and parents face together - or apart.

I registered with IMDb.com just so that I could provide a positive review for this movie. As I watch many movies, I take notice of those that do not try to shock, but tell a simple story well. Although the story of the main character is certainly contrived, as it serves as a vehicle for her situation to have relatability, the premise is believable, as many parents can attest to the fact that children grow up all too fast in our "culture", and that children will make mistakes. It may also help children to recognize the trials that their parents face in daily life. So, this is a very decent movie for parents and teenage children to watch together, and may serve as a tool to increase common understanding in families.

Surprisingly Great Movie

[robintillou · 10/10 · 21 January 2019]

Every bad parent should watch this movie to try and break the cycle. Eva was great in this and very believable. Highly recommend. A bit of a tear jerker.

The bottom falls out of this coulda-been

[joesorce · 8/10 · 24 July 2022]

The first 2/3 of this story is terrific. Lots of heartfelt moments, interesting family interaction, teen angst of course, and real-life drama. All of the performances are very good. Then at about the point of "the party", the whole thing falls apart and becomes a mess of cliches and cringeworthy situations/dialogue. The over-the-top mean girl seems particularly out of place. It's sad when a movie has so much potential and throws it all away. It's almost like maybe a new writer took over towards the end...one who had no idea what the rest of the movie was about. Maybe there was just too much to wrap up and the task became overwhelming? This movie might have worked better as a series or mini-series where all of the characters and situations could have been thoroughly developed and explored. Patricia Arquette is mostly wasted in this lovely little story that turns into a real letdown.

Blame it on Valerie

[bluediva-24372 · 10/10 · 24 July 2023]

Ansiedad is told "I hate you" by tavita when she teases her weight, Valerie should be told that by Shannon when she tease her skin color. Ferguson should be mad at Valerie because her name doesn't match what she is wearing, she should not dress like trash and gunk punk goth, Shannon is ghetto and she should stay away from Valerie for a while until she apologizes to tavita and ansiedad, and ms Armstrong and report herself to the principal. Tell Valerie to wipe the dirty make up off and follow the school dress code. Ansiedad burn and destroy Valerie room and replace it with nice new decorations. Like glitter. Or dye your hair pink Valerie and Grace should deal with you and your parents so you can get the punishment you need.

True to it's subject matter

[viachrisfox · 8/10 · 15 January 2022]

Nice blend of comedy & drama. Having experienced growing up with a single mother who had me when she was 19, this movie was spot on about growing up as the adult to your immature parent. Cierra Ramirez was brilliant as the adult child, so mature yet inexperienced. Meanwhile Eva Mendes was completely convincing as the immature mom, with mixed up values. Perhaps it is only appealing to those of us who grew up like that. Well done movie!

Loose the r-word!

[bkds · 1 October 2012]

Loved the idea of this movie and what it was mostly about, but must say this movie totally lost me with it's overuse of the word retarded. I really think society today knows better than to incorporate that derogatory word in the media. There is no purpose. Shouldn't we be eliminating that word from our vocabulary, nor encouraging the use of it? What talented writing; there is no reason for this! Beyond that, movie was great and different from anything I have watched in some time. Interesting story about a young girl trying to find her way without a true mother figure and the struggles she goes through. Very good depiction of a rough adolescence and makes you laugh cry and sympathize with the trials and roughness of this age.