‘Mistress America’ is a New Kind of Female-Driven Comedy

Sandra Miska

“Mistress America ,” the second collaboration between writer/director Noah Baumbach and writer/actress Greta Gerwig (the quirky comedy “Frances Ha” being their first), is told from the point of view of Tracy (Lola Kirke), an 18-year-old freshman at a prestigious New York College.  Struggling to find her way in her new surroundings, her mother (Kathryn Erbe) suggests that she contact Brooke (Gerwig), the 30-year-old daughter of her mother’s fiancé.  Tracy makes that phone call, which is followed by a meeting that night.  Tracy is almost immediately drawn to the older girl, and what could have been a forced and awkward situation pays off big time for her, as Brooke not only becomes Tracy’s friend, but a muse for her writing as well.

Describe by Lola Kirke to Entertainment Voice as “a larger than life character takes you out of your comfort zone and pulls you into another version of the city,” Brooke soon becomes the inspiration for a short story Tracy is writing in hopes of gaining admittance into a student writing society, a group that’s initiation tactics and exclusivity resembles that of a hot sorority or fraternity at another university.

Some of the music and other elements in “Mistress America” evoke an eighties feel, which was intentional, according to Baumbach, who cites as inspiration classic 1980s films such as “Something Wild,” “After Hours” and “Desperately Seeking Susan.”

“She seemed in some ways a character from another era,” Baumbach told Entertainment Voice.  “Even her concept of New York is not in sync with now.  She lives in Times Square, and nobody lives there.  Somebody had asked me, ‘Why doesn’t Brooke live in Brooklyn?’  Because in the New York in Brooke’s head, Brooklyn is still an outer borough; it’s not cool at all.”

Despite her retro vibe, Brooke is in many ways very much a millennial.  She stitches together multiple part-time jobs (she is a spinning instructor and a tutor to middle schoolers) to make a living while pursuing her dream of opening her own restaurant.  Despite having several things go wrong for her, including a break-up followed by an eviction from the commercial unit in which she is staying in illegally, she still manages to maintain a positive outlook.

“Mistress America” features two strong female leads, but differs from traditional “chick flicks,” since it’s not a heterosexual romance, nor are the woman bonded together by the desire to destroy a man who has done them wrong.  The film can probably best be described as a bromance, but between two women.

That’s not to say Tracy doesn’t also have a male romantic interest, but he hangs back while Brooke enthralls her.  She strikes up a friendship with her classmate Tony (Matthew Shear) soon after arriving to school, and it seems as if the relationship may be blossoming into something more, until she runs into him on campus holding hands with Nicolette (Jasmine Cephas-Jones), whose incessant jealously easily makes her the most obnoxious character in film.

Tony’s a nice enough guy, and smart, but lacks luster.  At first, he and Tracy seem like a perfect match, but as she grows, he’s better left behind in the friend zone, which becomes painfully apparent when he eventually gives her his reason for choosing Nicolette over her.

As for Brooke, she still has her ex Dylan (Michael Chernus) on her mind, but not so much because she still loves him, but rather because she feels he owes her, as does his wife, the snooty social climber Mamie-Claire (Heather Lind), who also happens to her ex-BFF.  Mamie-Claire took Brooke’s tee shirt design idea and turned it into a successful business, leaving her former friend out in the cold.

“Mistress America” culminates in a sequence at the wealthy couple’s Connecticut home, where Brooke shows up unannounced looking for the funding she needs to finally get her restaurant off the ground.  Along for the ride are Tracy, Tony (he has the car), and Nicolette (to keep Tony from cheating).  It’s a risky move for Brooke, but it’s Tracy whose world comes crashing down when her short story about Brooke is exposed.

“Mistress America” opens August 14 in select theaters.