Mistress America (2015)

A lonely college freshman's life is turned upside-down by her impetuous, adventurous stepsister-to-be.

Director:

Noah Baumbach

Writers:

Noah Baumbach, Greta Gerwig

Stars:

Greta Gerwig, Lola Kirke, Shana Dowdeswell

2 wins & 14 nominations.

Cast

Cast overview, first billed only:
Lola Kirke	...	Tracy
Shana Dowdeswell	...	Ruth
Shelby Rebecca Wong	...	Laura
Alfred Macadam	...	Professor #1
Amy Warren	...	Counselor
Sharon Washington	...	Professor #2
Morgan Lynch	...	Student
Andrea McKinnon	...	Hallway Girl (as Andrea Chen)
Shoba Narayan	...	Hallway Girl (as Shoba Narayanan)
Kathryn Erbe	...	Tracy's Mom
Jasmine Cephas Jones	...	Nicolette
Matthew Shear	...	Tony
Colin Stokes	...	Mobius Guy
Juliet Brett	...	Tiny Girl
Gretchen Young	...	Work Study Woman

Storyline

Tracy, a lonely college freshman in New York, is rescued from her solitude by her soon-to-be stepsister Brooke, an adventurous gal about town who entangles her in alluringly mad schemes. Mistress America is a comedy about dream-chasing, score-settling, makeshift families, and cat-stealing.

---

Plot Keywords:

neo screwball comedy | new york city | f rated | female editor | betrayal | 

---

Taglines:

from strangers to sisters.

---

Genres:

Comedy | Drama

---

Motion Picture Rating (MPAA)

Rated R for language including some sexual references

Did You Know?

Trivia

The Brooklyn-based band Dirty Projectors makes a cameo as the band Brooke sings with on Tracy and Brooke's first night out.

---

Goofs

There is a scene that Tracy is walking on campus with lighted trees on the background. It is actually on the College Walk of Columbia University. And those trees will not be decorated with lights until mid December for the Christmas. But the story happens before Thanksgiving.

---

Quotes

[First lines]
Tracy: [narrating] She would say things like, "Isn't every story a story of betrayal?" No, that's not true, I thought. But I could never say that. I could only agree with her. It was too much fun to agree with her.

---

Connections

References Dressed to Kill (1980)

---

Soundtracks

No More Lonely Nights
Written and performed by Paul McCartney
Courtesy of MPL Communications, Inc.

User Reviews

Mistress America: A surreal, strange, slice of life unlike any other

Taking place in New York City about now, "Mistress America" focuses on the life of Tracy who is a freshman in college. She aspires to be a writer—easy to tell because she's aloof, detached, alone, and looking for friends. Her mom's getting remarried so Tracy has an older sister-to-be in Brooke, one of those cinematic forces of nature like a young Katherine Hepburn, perhaps. Brooke takes Tracy into her life of late-night concert performances, high-output spinning, fashion, finance, clandestine apartments, absent lovers, and a nascent restaurant business. In many ways, this is a buddy movie as Tracy learns fierce independence from Brooke, who she greatly admires.

Like all buddy movies, Tracy's and Brooke's relationship has ups and downs, complicated by the literary understory. Then the whirlwind pace goes surreal as the New Yorkers head to Greenwich, Connecticut in search of—something. We think it's one thing but it's not. I guess Greenwich, seat of the uber wealthy in the US financial arena, is actually a surreal place.

This is an intensely witty movie with a very chewy script handled ably by the very smart cast. Many call "Mistress America" a comedy but funny is clearly not this movie's main goal. To call it a "screwball comedy" is to not properly describe its intellect. The movie is saying something about envying the lives of others, which most of us do to one extent or another. It's a thoughtful movie, and it will be uncomfortable for some to watch if you, like Tracy, are not centered within your own mind and body. And after all, who is?

We saw this movie thanks to the San Jose Camera Cinema Club.

Details

Official Sites:

Official site

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Release Date:

4 September 2015 (USA)

Also Known As:

Mistress America

Filming Locations:

New York City, New York, USA

Box Office

Opening Weekend USA:

$93,206, 16 August 2015

Gross USA:

$2,500,431

Cumulative Worldwide Gross:

$3,340,737

Company Credits

Production Co:

Fox Searchlight Pictures, RT Features, TSG Entertainment

Technical Specs

Runtime:

84 min

Sound Mix:

Dolby Digital

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

1.85 : 1