This Girl in Progress Just Might Be Worth the Effort
Here’s a new poster for Girl in Progress, Eva Mendes’ first shot at carrying a movie on her name and shoulders.
Grace (Eva Mendes) is a single mom. She is too busy juggling work, bills, and the very married Dr. Hartford (Matthew Modine), to give her daughter, Ansiedad (Cierra Ramirez) the attention she desperately needs. When Ansiedad's English teacher, Ms. Armstrong (Patricia Arquette), introduces her students to classic coming-of-age stories, Ansiedad is inspired to skip adolescence and jump-start her life without mom. While Grace becomes preoccupied with the increasing affections of her co-worker (Eugenio Derbez), Ansiedad enlists the help of her loyal friend, Tavita (Raini Rodriguez), to plot her shortcut to "adulthood". But as her misguided plan unravels, Ansiedad and Grace must learn that sometimes growing-up means acting your age.
Ansiedad is the Dominican word for ‘anxiety’. Writer Hiram Martinez explained, “there’s no word Dominicans won’t turn into someone’s name. Naming a teen Ansiedad/Anxiety {tells the audience} two things — how she feels and what kind of world she comes from.”
Here’s a terrific behind-the-scenes featurette with commentary from the director, Patricia Riggin (Under the Same Moon) as well as all of her actors. (Bit of trivia: Raini Rodgriguez, who plays Tavita, is the older sister of Rico Ramirez from Modern Family.)
I think there’s a lot more here than I initially thought meets the eye. It definitely seems a cut above average family fare with lots of intelligence and heart. Girl in Progress opens in limited release here the US this Friday May 11.
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