Review of Mistress America (2015) by Robert S — 27 Mar 2017

Noah Baumbach's knack for crafting imperfect characters makes for a delightfully punchy screwball comedy in Mistress America. At just 84 minutes long, the film is a breeze, and that's only amplified by Baumbach and Greta Gerwig's (who also stars in the film) fast-paced screenplay.

Characters fire off lines and lines of dialogue with little to no rest, all of which is quirky and darkly comedic in typical Baumbach form, and the scenes are edited with the kinds of hypercuts more suited for a setpiece in a high octane action movie.

The story, of two soon-to-be step-sisters (Lola Kirke and Gerwig, who share electric chemistry) and how their individual personalities affect one another's life goals, never quite reaches the same emotional heights as, say, The Squid and the Whale, but as much more of a comedy than that film, perhaps it doesn't truly need to.

There's just enough seriousness to balance out the predominantly lighter material and put the Baumbach/Gerwig streak up at two-for-two.