August can sometimes be seen as the dumping ground for blockbuster left-overs, but on the independent side, there are wealth of excellent options to be had. Near the very top of the list is Noah Baumbach‘s follow-up to While We’re Young, Mistress America, which premiered at Sundance Film Festival back in January and is arriving next week. Featuring Greta Gerwig and Lola Kirke as soon-to-be stepsisters who meet for the first time, Fox Searchlight have now delivered a great new trailer for the screwball comedy.
We said in our review, “Something happened to Noah Baumbach. The writer-director behind Greenberg, Margot at the Wedding, and The Squid in the Whale never once pulled a punch as a storyteller, telling honest and emotional stories. What’s great about his more cringe-inducing work is that, underneath all the pain, there’s still a sense of optimism; Baumbach truly roots for his characters to pull their lives together. Now, after Frances Ha, While We’re Young, and Mistress America, the director has a new demeanor; he’s making genuinely happy movies. “Warm” and “fuzzy” aren’t exactly labels associated with Baumbach’s past work, but apparently he does the two exceedingly well. If this new Baumbach is here to stay, he’s more than welcome to stick around.”
Also starring Michael Chernus, Heather Lind, Matthew Shear, Jasmine Cephas Jones, and Dean Wareham, check out the new trailer and clips below.
In MISTRESS AMERICA, Tracy (Lola Kirke) is a lonely college freshman in New York, having neither the exciting university experience nor the glamorous metropolitan lifestyle she envisioned. But when she is taken in by her soon-to-be stepsister, Brooke (Greta Gerwig) – a resident of Times Square and adventurous gal about town – she is rescued from her disappointment and seduced by Brooke’s alluringly mad schemes.
Mistress America opens on August 14th.