Mistress America

Noah Baumbach is quickly becoming one of my favorite directors. There’s a quirky realism to his comedies that’ll have me laughing hysterically throughout but will also have me deeply relating to their stories. Mistress America explores the familiar feeling of wanting to be accepted in a new environment and finding someone to look up to and share in the experience with.

Tracy (Lola Kirke) is a college freshman experiencing the wild and bustling city that is New York for the first time. Struggling to find any real friends, Tracy reaches out to her future stepsister, Brooke (Greta Gerwig), who appears to be living the high life in the city as she is about to open up her own restaurant. The two quickly become great friends, and Brooke’s carefree attitude inspires Tracy to write a short story based on their experiences together.

Mistress America is brilliantly hilarious. Greta Gerwig and Lola Kirke are both amazing as soon-to-be sisters; Kirke’s unsure attitude really compliments Gerwig’s bubbly persona. Brooke is this extremely passionate but quite ditzy New Yorker who juggles at least a half-dozen different things at once. In addition to finding investors to open her restaurant, she also is an interior decorator, a singer in a band, a tutor; the list goes on a on. She’s one of those people who you’re happy for but can’t help but wonder how they’ve managed to make it that far to begin with. Tracy is much more reserved and looks at Brooke with an inquisitive mind. She struggles to be more like her while also trying to be her own unique self.

Besides Gerwig and Kirke, there are so many great performances from the supporting cast, including Heather Lind, Jasmine Cephas Jones, Michael Chernus, and Matthew Shear. The conversations in the film are oftentimes awkwardly hilarious and make absolutely no sense and perfect sense at the same time. It’s all organized chaos that’ll have you laughing till it hurts.

Mistress America is one of those films you can watch again and again because there will always be something you missed the first or even second time around. The script, written by both Noah Baumbach and Greta Gerwig is tightly packed with humor and emotion that connects on all levels. This is one film you don’t want to miss.