When Girl Most Likely opened up at the Noho 7 Theaters on Lankershim Boulevard recently, I was very excited. The lineup of actors is impressive; Kristen Wiig, Annette Bening, and Matt Dillion to name a few. It’s no secret that they can always bring an audience into the theater. This is a thoughtful story about a 30ish woman who finds herself caught between the world she wants to stay in and the one she left behind. Or in this case it’s the world she is forced to leave behind because of her choices. It is not a new theme, it isn’t even a new twist on an old theme, but it is the way it is written and portrayed that draws the audience into the film.
When our protagonist Kristen Wiig (Imogene), finds herself unexpectedly released from her home, her job, and the relationship of her dreams, she spirals downward. Hoping to have ‘him’ rescue her from a ‘faked’ overdose, she ends up in a psychiatric ward. The only one able to save her becomes her self-centered mother played by Annette Bening. Zelda has many faults that include an addictive personality that encompasses a need to gamble in Atlantic City. Imogene is not only appalled at having to move home to Ocean City, New Jersey from wonderful and fabulous New York city, she is disgusted at her mother’s display of affection toward the live in boyfriend. George or The Bousche, as he likes to call himself is portrayed by Matt Dillion with an offbeat comedic tone. He is an alleged undercover CIA agent hiding at the shore in New Jersey, is he for real?
Getting back to the relationship between Kirsten and Annette, the audience is not quite sure whether to like or hate the mother. Imogene is totally unsympathetic to her and it is not immediately apparent why she dislikes her so much. Her mom might dress like a 90’s teenager in leggings, but she also keeps house with her adult son who has some emotional challenges. We are then introduced to the handsome Yale dropout who is renting Imogene’s room. Sadly, it is predictable what will occur between the two of them in the future. Although the actor playing him (Darren Criss) of Glee fame, does a very fine job, he seems out of place in this menagerie of quirky characters. Adding to the story, Imogene and her brother find out that the father they were told is dead is really alive. So the plot thickens, as the search for the father, the search for the lost boyfriend, and the search for her lost dream of being a playwright converge before our eyes.
Everyone has seen this before in one form or another. Girl loses guy, finds another better guy. Dreams are put to the side for some immediate gratification, or someone had to leave their childhood home; it was too confining, too restrictive, too crazy making. It doesn’t really matter that we have heard and seen this all before. The what if’s and why not’s. Look beyond what’s on the surface, see the fine acting, hear the good writing, feel the beautiful undertones of the theme. Observe the special contrast of the streets of New York and the streets of New Jersey; it says it all without saying a thing.
The acting, the cinematography and the story is executed well. It is always fun to see a comedian like Kristen Wiig do a more serious role .Of course; it is a supreme pleasure to see the veterans like Annette Bening and Matt Dillion accept these roles. The screenplay is by Michelle Morgan, and the directing is shared by Shari Springer Berman and Robert Pulcini. Catch this before it leaves the neighborhood. NoHo 7 on Lankershim Blvd. Ratings scale=A-1…see it.