Frances Ha (2012)


After immensely enjoying Frances Ha, I’m convinced that the HBO show Girls is but a pallid imitation of this movingly funny indie dramatic comedy. Twenty-something Frances shows us that life is an unfinished work in progress, whether you are in your 20s or your 40s. Noah Baumbach directs a stellar cast, ironically including Adam Driver, who plays Lena Dunham’s douchebaggian on-again-off-again boyfriend in Girls. So far Driver has made a career of playing rootless, hipster males. But his character Lev in Frances is delightfully complex. As Lev, Driver never succumbs to the nihilism embodied in Girls’ self-loathing sociopath Adam. Frances is ever optimistic about her future, but she hasn’t yet found her niche. As an apprentice in a modern dance company who apartment hops every few weeks or so, on the surface Frances is barely scraping by. Through all of her trials, however, she remains kind, bubbly, and faithful.
Frances’ best friend from college is Sophie, who serves as her foil. Sophie has a secure position at Random House. Seemingly more self-possessed than her free-spirited counterpart, she is practically engaged to a waspy yuppie named Patch. When Patch gets transferred to Japan, Sophie leaves her best friend behind in New York. Frances herself embarks on an impulsive journey of self-discovery in which she makes an ass out of herself—repeatedly. Nevertheless, she does so without whining self-pity, which is more than you can say about the petulant mean children on Girls. You find yourself happily rooting for Frances’ success rather than cringing at her social mishaps and drunken confessionals.
When I was around the same age as Frances, I survived an especially rough patch from which I emerged relatively unscathed. My life was about to get a lot messier before it got better, but I made it through the worst, just like Frances. One is left with the sense that she has endured a trying time in her young life with graceful style. Not the last, for sure, but one of the many that we all gladly suffer as evolving human beings. Frances Ha will make you happy to be alive. Streaming now on Netflix.



Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Getting to Know Mother Russia, Then and Now

Image
I majored in Russian Language and Literature at the University of Pennsylvania back when Perestroika had paved the way for an economic rebirth and a feeling of friendship. After Mr. Gorbachev had “torn down” tangibly oppressive walls, he also opened the floodgates for idealistic young Americans to master Russian language and culture. I'm not sure how I intended to actually APPLY my degree. At one point, I fantasized about the romantic life of a career diplomat. Working for a profitable American company that needed Russian-speaking employees to forge further economic ties also seemed possible. As it turns out, my degree was good for two things. Our childhood conception of Russians. First, I fell in love with Russian literature. Russian poetry is a bit too hand-wringingly dramatic (too much beating of the breast) for my tastes, but Dostoevsky and Tolstoy so perfectly capture the nuances of not just the Russian spirit but the universality of the human condition. The secon...
Read more

Beth Takes Her First Drink and We All Yawn

Image
“Still” Beth and Daryl do a lot of running away from walkers, A LOT. This is quite the tenses, as the  infamous fake O.J. observer said way back in 1994 to a thoroughly befuddled Peter Jennings. The duo decides to hide out in the trunk of a defunct car as walkers swarm the area. After scavenging the car for useful stuff, they leave. Huh. Not much to say about that except maybe, “I see Beth, and she look scared!” in the words of the aforementioned OJ observer impersonator. I do hope that most of my readers were either old enough to vote, drink, or engage in carnal relations when O.J. Simpson murdered his ex-wife and her friend Ron Goldman back in 1994. Otherwise, this brilliant reference will be sadly lost upon you unless you Google it! Back to Beth and Daryl in the forest. One day, Daryl realizes, he’s going to lose all of his crossbow arrows. One of them has snapped in two. Shouldn’t he have a bigger beard by now? If my calculations are correct, he should resemble ...
Read more

Pharmaceutica: HEROES GIVE HAPPY ENDINGS

OLDER MAN AT PHARMACY COUNTER: $1,286?!! For Viagra? TECH AT CASHIER: [shrugging] I’m sorry, sir, but your insurance just won’t cover it.  OLDER MAN: What does a guy have to do around here to get a boner?  [scene freezes and pharmacy goes dark except for a spotlight on SPOKESMAN] SPOKESMAN [wearing a dark suit, white button down shirt, and tie, steps out of darkness] Has this ever happened to you ? [points to camera, breaking the fourth wall] TECH: Step right down here, sir! [TECH sprints breathlessly from the front register to consult window] OLDER MAN: [desperately but hopefully following TECH] Isn’t there anything you can do? SPOKESMAN [standing behind TECH]: There sure is. A couple strokes on the keyboard [winks at camera with a half smile] is all it takes. OLDER MAN: Sounds good to me. What’s not to like? SPOKESMAN: Edit, scan, apply coupon– TECH: [tapping furiously away at keyboard] SPOKESMAN: Now enter enter enter, and voila! TECH: That’ll be $23.47. OLDER MAN: [astoni...
Read more