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.

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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

Did You Know?

Trivia

Noah Baumbach & Greta Gerwig compared the film to John Hughes' films.

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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

Tony: I need someone I can love, not keep up with.

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Connections

Featured in Late Night with Seth Meyers: Anderson Cooper/Greta Gerwig/Tig Notaro (2015)

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Soundtracks

Happy & Free (Jim James Remix)
Written and performed by Dean Wareham
Courtesy of Double Feature Records

User Reviews

Simple but simply charming

This film tells the story of two young women who will become step sisters after their parents' marriage. They meet and bond quickly, and they go through life events in quick succession in the space of a few weeks.

"Mistress America" is a simple film that is dependent on dialogue and interesting characters. The quick pace and rapid fire dialogues remind me of Woody Allen films, and I think in here the dialogues are really good as they give the main characters distinct personalities. Brooke is very creative, bubbly, quirky but likable. Even the supporting characters are special, such as the jealous girlfriend and the rich woman who steals Brooke's ideas. There is so much going on in the film, even in the first ten minutes I thought I have already watched for much longer because so much has happened. I really enjoyed this charming film.

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