Gringa stars Jess Gabor as Marge, a clumsy teenager who struggles at school and on the soccer field. Marge's mother, Margie (Judy Greer), is a busy but not very successful real estate agent. Though she loves her daughter, the two see little of each other as Margie struggles to give them a life. Everything changes when Margie dies in a tragic car accident. Faced with the prospect of moving to Arizona with her stern and inflexible grandparents, Marge decides to chart her own path.
After learning that former soccer star and current father of hers, Jackson (Steve Zahn), lives in a beachfront shack in a small town in Mexico, Marge decides to sneak across the border for an impromptu meeting. What she finds is a libertine alcoholic who when he's not asleep is usually drunk or surfing. Dad is also the women's soccer coach in town, an obligation he gave himself to gain the attention of Elsa (Roselyn Sanchez), who owns a local, out-of-the-league Jackson bar but can't completely resist. to its charm.
Directors: Marny Eng, E.J. Foerster
Writer: Patrick Hasburgh
Stars: Judy Greer, Roselyn Sanchez, Steve Zahn
The dramatic father-daughter reunion is sad but also deeply uncomfortable. Neither knows how to take the other. Jackson sympathizes with Margie's death, he loved her once, but he's also a stunted man-child, so his sympathies only go so far. Marge herself is rightfully bitter towards her father who walked out on her. These opening scenes are emotionally charged as Jess Gabor and Steve Zahn wrestle with the complicated emotions at play. These are Gringa's strongest moments.
Less strong are the subsequent scenes of forced melodrama. After father and daughter reach a tentative peace agreement, they set a 30-day deadline. By this deadline, Marge will have to go back to her grandparents unless Daddy says she can stay. This rings false as the two of them bond so strongly over these 30 days, her playing soccer on her team, her helping him get closer to Elsa, the two of them surfing together, that when it comes to the dramatic 30th day it rings hollow.
The same goes for the end of the film, another forced dramatic parting of ways that is resolved with relative ease. These bits of forced drama undermine Gringa's strengths, though not completely. It's been a while since I've enjoyed watching Steve Zahn on screen. Her most recent acting work has tended towards laziness. Gringa is the first time in years that Zahn seems engaged with the material and invested in his own performance.
Zahn and Jess Gabor demonstrate a strong father-daughter dynamic, and when they're not pawns pushed by the plot, when they're allowed to till the rich emotional soil of their relationship, Gringa is a pretty good movie. It's unfortunate that the construction of the story around this complex and compelling pair of actors is so compromised by poor decisions. I want to recommend Gringa based on the strength of these actors, but it's a very small recommendation since all of Gringa is subpar.
Watch Gringa 2023 Movie Trailer
Comments
Post a Comment