Mistress America
A lonely Barnard freshman is swept into her magnetic soon-to-be stepsister’s dazzling schemes, discovering that charisma, ambition, and family can all be improvised.
Overview
A lonely college freshman finds unexpected adventure and chaos with her eccentric stepsister in New York City.
Ember's analysis
- Pacing
- Brisk
- Intensity
- Moderate
- Complexity
- Layered
- Violence
- None
- witty
- irreverent
- sardonic
- lazy sunday
- indie comedy night
What critics said
Critics broadly praised the film’s ferociously funny co-written script, Greta Gerwig’s charismatic performance, and Baumbach’s darkly witty screwball style, while finding the Connecticut mansion sequence uneven.
What sets it apart
May contain story progression spoilers
Brooke attracts Tracy through her adventurous persona and grand schemes while gradually exposing the costs of living as a performance.
Tracy is a college writer whose observations of Brooke and their social circle shape her emerging artistic voice.
The improvised family and mansion episode transforms resentment, financial schemes, and romantic betrayal into extended absurdist comedy.
Tracy's Barnard freshman experience and her navigation of Brooke's Manhattan social world anchor the film's distinctly metropolitan perspective.
Films like Mistress America, and why
Frances Ha
shared screwball energy, female friendship, metropolitan self-invention, and witty social observation
The Squid and the Whale
shared fast-talking comedy, romanticized urban ambition, and intellectually restless young women
Kicking and Screaming
shared new york setting, literary aspiration, awkward relationships, and sharply comic emotional reversals
Broadcast News
shared screwball comedy, makeshift family dynamics, betrayal, and exuberant ensemble farce
Movie Details
- Director
- Noah Baumbach
- Release Date
- 2015-08-14
- Runtime
- 84 min
- Rating
- 6.5 / 10 (608)
Cast
- Greta Gerwig
- Lola Kirke
- Matthew Shear
- Jasmine Cephas Jones
- Heather Lind
- Michael Chernus
- Cindy Cheung
- Kathryn Erbe
- Dean Wareham
- Shana Dowdeswell
Where to watch in United States
- Rent
- Amazon Video, Apple TV Store, Google Play Movies, YouTube, Fandango At Home
- Buy
- Amazon Video, Apple TV Store, Google Play Movies, YouTube, Fandango At Home
Streaming options come from TMDB and change over time.
Common questions
- What is Mistress America about?
- A lonely Barnard freshman is swept into her magnetic soon-to-be stepsister’s dazzling schemes, discovering that charisma, ambition, and family can all be improvised.
- What is Mistress America like to watch?
- Ember's analysis rates the pacing of Mistress America as brisk, its intensity as moderate and its storytelling as layered.
- Is Mistress America violent?
- No — Ember's analysis finds no violence in Mistress America.
- What did critics think of Mistress America?
- Critics broadly praised the film’s ferociously funny co-written script, Greta Gerwig’s charismatic performance, and Baumbach’s darkly witty screwball style, while finding the Connecticut mansion sequence uneven.
- Which films are like Mistress America?
- Films with a similar feel include Frances Ha, The Squid and the Whale, Kicking and Screaming, and Broadcast News.
- How long is Mistress America?
- Mistress America runs 84 minutes.
- Where can I watch Mistress America?
- In United States, Mistress America is available to rent or buy from Amazon Video, Apple TV Store, Google Play Movies, YouTube, Fandango At Home.
