American Girl

The needy teenager Rena Grubb (Jena Malone) lives with her dysfunctional family of losers in a trailer park. The most popular boy in her school is dating her only for sex, and does not want to be seen with her. Her brother Jay (Brad Renfro) is gay; her older half-sister Barbie (Alicia Witt) is a bitch; and her mother Madge (Michelle Forbes) works hard in several low-qualification jobs to raise money to support her family. Rena is asking her mother to go to the annual picnic with her beloved missing low-fife father John Grubb (Chris Mulkey), who is in prison sentenced to two life sentences. Rena is pregnant and collects the cards her father sends to her from the prison. When Madge decides to go with her family to the picnic, and along the day, the family finds how mean and nasty John is, shattering the dreams of Rena with her father.

"Confessions of an American Girl" is a weird movie, with a genre oscillating between a heavy drama and a very dark comedy. The cast is excellent with great performances, highlighting Jena Malone in the role of a complex needy girl that wishes to be loved and worships her father, but in the end she discovers the truth about him. Alicia Witt is extremely sexy, her character is despicable and her performance is so good that Barbie irritated me in many moments with her mean attitude. My vote is six.

Title (Brazil): "Confissões de uma Garota Americana" ("Confessions of an American Girl")

If you like black comedy you should enjoy "Confessions of an American Girl". Rena (Jena Malone) is the embodiment of that old cartoon where the guy is sitting on the ground with a noose around his neck and a broken rope in his hand; captioned "some people can't do anything right". Rena lives in a mobile home with her somewhat "strange" family, is suicide challenged, is pregnant by a guy who doesn't want to be seen in public with her, and blames it all on the unfair eight year absence of her loving father, who is in prison for murder. Her dim memories of her father are somewhat biased. The highway and its exit ramps are metaphors for her life and her desire to end her life.

Alica Witt plays Rena's half-sister. Because Malone and Witt are arguably the most intelligent actresses in Hollywood, you immediately wonder about the wisdom of casting them as moronic trailer trash. But Malone has a special talent for playing this kind of "slack-jawed" character and Witt's standard sarcastic teen character works fine even in this environment. Their scenes together are the best ones in the film; with their reconciliation scene toward the end especially good.

Brad Renfro does a good job as Rena brother, O-Lon Jones (remember the waitress in Seinfeld's "Bubble Boy" episode) is excellent in a small role and Clifton Collins Jr. is great as Buddy, the prison trustee, who quickly sizes up the situation and sets the forces of change in motion.

While "American Girl" is an above average film, its main scene (the picnic at the prison which actually takes up the majority of the film) pushes it into cinema classic territory. This scene is an example of the way storytelling should be done, and the pacing is absolutely inspired. It is staged perfectly as Buddy orchestrates a sequence of revelations that changes all four visiting family members. Even if you hate the subject of this film it is worth watching just to see how wonderfully they manage this climatic scene. The disastrous visit over, the family leaves the prison with the statement "it went better than it could have".

Then again, what do I know? I'm only a child.

Pretty high school dropout Jena Malone (as Rena Grubb) is suicidal, after being left pregnant by her boyfriend. Fortunately, Ms. Malone is ineffective at killing herself, and returns to her trailer park home. Also returning is budding gay brother Brad Renfro (as Jay Grubb), fresh from four boring weeks fishing with his uncle. They, and trashy harlot sister Alicia Witt (as Barbie), live with pot-smoking mom Michelle Forbes (as Madge Grubb). Prompted by Malone, the family four decide to attend an annual prison picnic, to see absent father Chris Mulkey (as John Grubb), who is serving time for two murders.

At the picnic, the reunited Grubbs are joined by Mr. Mulkey's prison pal Clifton Collins Jr. (as Buddy). Then, skeletons begin falling out of the family closet… "We crawl on our bellies and eat the dead," is how Mr. Renfro describes the Grubb family. Jordan Brady's "American Girl" has some good moments, and is well-acted. But, the "dark comedy" aspect doesn't really succeed; it might have been better to film Scott Sandoe's story as a drama.

Director Brady is at his best when the family begins their picnic. Malone does a great job with her character's less suicidal, more introspective moments; the growth of her romanticism to rage is very nicely played. Renfro's character is hardly second rate; and, without the numerous suicide attempts, it's a more satisfying story. Renfro, and the film, are helped immensely by the appearance of Mr. Collins Jr.'s sex "Buddy". Clifton Collins Jr. is definitely "Best Supporting Actor" worthy.

******* American Girl (10/16/02) Jordan Brady ~ Jena Malone, Brad Renfro, Clifton Collins Jr.

Jena Malone never stops amaze me. This movie have everything, including great style. It's about a girl named Rena who wants to kill herself because she thinks that her life isn't worth anything..The movie makes no sense, but oh my goddess it's great. I totally recommend it!

The DVD box describes "Confessions of an American Girl" as a "quirky dark comedy". If you are going to make a "black comedy" about a dysfunctional family, it better be entertaining. In order for the film to be entertaining, it better be funny. If it's not going to be funny, it better not be depressing. Unfortunately, "Confessions of an American Girl" is not only not funny, but it is both pointless and depressing. Family goes to visit their jerk father in prison, family come away agreeing he is indeed a jerk. End of story. Throw in some incest, homosexuality, endless suicide attempts, along with the depression, and you wind up with a bad movie. Not recommended. - MERK