good back-story, and good acting

It's funny, it's tense, it features two great performances from two actors and the director expertly creates a web of odd tension where you actually don't know what is happening for the majority of the run time.

This is one of the best movies I’ve seen in a very long time. You have to go and see this on the big screen.

It's simply great fun, a winsome film and an occasionally over-the-top luxury fantasy that never flags.

Now I know, you're already scrolling by this review thinking "She gave it a five, it must suck." Don't do that. I'm giving this movie a five for three reasons. One) It's slow to start. You never really feel anything for the characters until late in the middle. The only character that you actually feel compassion towards is Tavita (Raini Rodriguez). At least, that's how it was for me. For a long time, you're watching the movie but you're not really invested and you're only vaguely interested in what might happen next. Two) Some of the plot lines, like many in Hollywood, are a little far fetched. The entire Crab Shack is ridiculous because no self respecting owner would leave "all he has" to a woman he doesn't 100% trust. The theft was ridiculous as well. (Including the way "Mission Impossible" "solves" it.) The party scene with the movie's "mean girl" was a little out there (and by a little, I mean, in what world would an entire party throw drinks on a girl for having sex?)Three) Every time it would have a moment that you think "Dang, that was actually pretty moving" or "Wow, that was some impressive acting" it gets ruined moments later by an needless line or sequence. For instance, near the end when Grace is pulling Ansiedad off the bus, it's fantastic. The line "I'm not letting you go" is powerful and Eva delivers it beautifully. But then the seemingly endless chase scene takes away from the overall impact of the fight and resolution. Even after these three faults in the movie, I enjoyed it. I think Eva was fantastic as a mother who doesn't quite have it together. There were scenes that brought a tear to my eye and that made me laugh. The star players were Eva Mendes, Patricia Arquette, and Raini Rodriguez. There were some moments where Cierra Ramirez really nailed the misunderstood teenager, and others where she kind of made you cringe.Overall, I would watch this movie again. I might even buy it, if I found it in the 5 dollar bin at Walmart. Is it award worthy? No. Will it change your life? Probably not. But it does have some heart and some humor.

Coming-of-age films are a dime-a-dozen and, surprisingly, good coming- of-age films are also a dime-a-dozen – providing they have the right hook and the right leading teenager. That's exactly why "Girl in Progress" can neatly fit itself in-line with other memorable and good, but not great, teenage girl films. Ansiedad (Cierra Ramirez) is a snarky teenager, fed up with her immature mother (for good reason) and rebels at home and at school because she's got nothing better to do.The single mother, Grace (Eva Mendes), goes from one married man to another, to a new town, and from same old waitressing and maid jobs to another. Mendes isn't great but then again her character is as selfish, immature, self-absorbed and superficial as one can get. The daughter, Ansiedad, has been described as mean, manipulative and stupid, just like how angst-ridden teenagers can be. It worked here, since in the beginning at least, her many negative attributes were presented humorously, and given her age she isn't supposed to be as mature or responsible as her mother.The hook, though, is what really elevates "Girl in Progress" to "good". In school, Ansiedad's teacher (Patricia Arquette) is educating the students on coming-of-age stories. Where, through a series of events, teenagers essentially become adults. This is exactly what Ansiedad wants, and she is fairly perceptive, so she is able to write out the various situations that the teenagers in all the stories experience in order to become adults. A manual for coming-of-age stories explained in a coming-of-age film.Ansiedad follows it to the letter, even shortening her name to Anne, but of course, the maturation process is not something that can be mapped out. The tone of the film becomes uneven when we switch from humorous to sentimental when Anne becomes frustrated when she is not yet an adult. But that's the type of frustration that audiences should relate to rather than just getting annoyed by.Grace's married man of the month is Dr. Harford (Matthew Modine). He is of course sly, unscrupulous and dishonest but the writing of the character and Modine made him worth your time. Dr. Harford is also smart, smarter than Grace, and he allows for both an unlikable character to remain unlikable and to have an unlikable character as the catalyst for change. The supporting characters, like him, and the hook make "Girl in Progress" both likable and smart. Relatively, speaking.

This is a well-scripted and sincerely acted family movie, devoid of profanity. I will leave it to other parents to decide whether it is effective, but in light of the trash that we are sold as cinema, here is a sweet movie that attempts to convey the difficulties that teenagers and parents face together - or apart. I registered with IMDb.com just so that I could provide a positive review for this movie. As I watch many movies, I take notice of those that do not try to shock, but tell a simple story well. Although the story of the main character is certainly contrived, as it serves as a vehicle for her situation to have relatability, the premise is believable, as many parents can attest to the fact that children grow up all too fast in our "culture", and that children will make mistakes. It may also help children to recognize the trials that their parents face in daily life. So, this is a very decent movie for parents and teenage children to watch together, and may serve as a tool to increase common understanding in families.

Girl in Progress revolves around Ansiedad (Cierra Ramirez), a young adolescent with a mother too busy juggling two jobs and dozens of relationships to give her attention. One day at school, young Ansiedad - who goes by Ann, most of the time - learns about "coming of age" stories from her teacher. She becomes instantly inspired, researching anything and everything about them, and finally memorizes the formula well enough to make an attempt to have her life follow the basic route of one of those stories. She posts all the clichés like "excel at something geeky," "become the bad girl," and "dump best friend," who in this case happens to be the overweight Tavita (Raini Rodriguez).Ann's mother is Eva Mendez's Grace, a very conceded, uninvolved woman of many low qualities. She got pregnant at seventeen, was kicked out of the house by her strict mother, never got married, and spends time dating numerous men. She is mostly absent while Ann embarks on this conquest, only turning up to vaguely question her daughter's recent behavior, before going back to doing what she was originally doing. But hey, this is a coming of age story, so I guess it's just following the rules. Right? Grace is also dating a married gynecologist (Matthew Modine), spending more time with him than her daughter, so I guess maybe it's best that Ann seek out other people to influence her besides her mother.We've all seen this idea before. The only difference is we've seen it with more heart, energy, and self-awareness than this film has to offer. There are films like Easy A and Juno, that inject themselves with witticisms and insight into the teenage life, never mocking it or festering in clichés, but satirizing the clichés commonly utilized in modern-day coming of age stories. Then, there are those rare and unpleasant experiences like Girl in Progress that simplify the core story here; the complex relationship between the mother and the daughter. We see the daughter spend the entire movie going through this tireless phase of rebellion and we see her desperately try to win back her mother's attention away from her countless number of boyfriends.The picture's main flaw is it lacks a single compelling character that we feel for and want to watch for more than just a few minutes. Ann is a spoiled brat who often goes undisciplined (and I simply can not forgive her for being an adolescent and being hormonal - maybe if she packed more of an urgency than just, "I want my mom to notice me" perhaps I could've), Grace is the kind of mother I'm blessed to not have, and her boyfriend is faceless and unimportant in every way.This is what you call "a big screen sitcom." Instead of making a film centered truly depicting the lives of teenagers with interesting, redeemable qualities, the filmmakers of Girl in Progress seem to believe it would be more fun to make a film centered around depressingly bland teenage conventions set not for the big screen but more for a Television movie network. The first act is instantaneously stale, the second doesn't fair much better, and the third act concludes with a mechanical exit that feels over-plotted and under-executed. Perhaps if we had a character that was at least in some aspects likable, this wouldn't have happened.NOTE: Girl in Progress was released on Mother's Day weekend and was marketed as a film for mothers and their daughters to see. I can only imagine the awkward, unprecedented bleakness such a well-meaning move probably played out. There are better films that tackle the same struggle of adolescent confusion. I'd start with Catherine Hardwicke's Thirteen and go from there.Starring: Eva Mendes, Cierra Ramirez, Matthew Modine, Patricia Arquette, Eugenio Derbez, and Rani Rodriguez. Directed by: Patricia Riggen.