Review of Sherrybaby (2006) by Eric F — 17 Apr 2008

Without Maggie Gyllenhaal, I don't feel like i'd like this nearly as much as I did. She certainly carried the film on her shoulders.

The script was fine, although I would have liked to see a better supporting cast. Danny Trejo's character of Dean Walker was good, but everyone else in the film is insantly forgettable. Lynette Swanson, played by Bridget Barkan, was so full of cliches that she's a walking caricature of an unforgiving person.

I also couldn't get too emotionally attached to this because I never felt Sherry deserved her daughter. I enjoy films that explore these types of flawed characters, although at times it's impossibly to sympathize at all with Sherry. Through the film we see her make such selfish and stupid decisions, and Alexis seems perfectly fine at home with her (Sherry's) brother. I guess I cannot completely fault the script for that, however - it's a bold move by Collyer that the film doesn't insult your intellegience with an immediate redemption of the character after prison (or even by the end of the film).

This was a powerful story of a mother driven to better herself only for the love of her daughter, but nothing about it was too exceptional outside of Maggie's performance. It's certainly worth viewing for that alone - she's a wonderful young actress with a very bright future.