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 & 13 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 Chen	...	Hallway Girl
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.

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Plot Keywords:

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

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Taglines:

from strangers to sisters.

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Genres:

Comedy | Drama

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Motion Picture Rating (MPAA)

Rated R for language including some sexual references

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

Did You Know?

Trivia

A poster for Brian De Palma's Dressed to Kill (1980) is visible in Tony's room. After directing Mistress America (2015), Noah Baumbach went on to co-direct De Palma (2015), a documentary about the filmmaker.

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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.

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Quotes

Nicolette: Why don't you just put pasta up her pussy?

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Connections

References Dressed to Kill (1980)

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Soundtracks

Souvenir
Written by Martin Cooper and Paul Humphreys
Performed by Orchestral Manoeuvres in the Dark
Courtesy of Virgin Records Ltd.
Under license from Universal Music Enterprises

User Reviews

Better than those reviewed when comparing other works of Baumbach

1. Writing/Acting? I think the writing really good and should keep you engaged. I don't know other Noak Baumbach's works but his fans seem disappointed with this one. Greta Gerwig character reminded me of Alicia Silverstone in "Clueless" and Lola Kirke is just adorable. Both leads were great as well as supporting cast. The writing combined with the acting made it enjoyable similar to movies rated 6.7 or 6.8 in IMDb.

2. Did it make me laugh? Just a little but I watched this alone. Greta Gerwig character gives you the most attempts to laugh.

3. Unnecessary, unrealistic components? Scenes from old boyfriends house was a bit silly and unnatural but not over the top. The good writing keeps it in control. You find no special effects of gimmicks.

4. Soundtrack? Subconsciously, I might be giving the movie higher ratings because the music put me in the right place. Subtle background songs that seem to have "The Cure" influenced in several scenes. There were other 80's tunes made it flow for me.