For sure, I remembered Steve Zahn thanks to his early career appearance in Reality Bites, but it was in the underappreciated 1999 gem “Happy, Texas” that I looked at him and thought, This guy is something special. I mean, he has made his share of Strange Wilderness-level bad decisions, but while most of Hollywood’s actors remain unjustifiably praised, my man Zahn is one of the few who is truly underrated. Once in a while, a movie comes out that serves as a rude wake-up call as to how special Zahn is. Gringa has its cliches but centers around Marge Bickford who is played by Jess Gabor, a socially aloof teenage girl with a single mother played by Judy Greer who works as a realtor and is always on the move. This does not provide, but rather destroys any semblance of stability for Marge. While soccer does serve as an escape for Marge, she’s apparently not good enough to escape the harassment from her coach and teammates, so it festers into an eating disorder. After her mother dies in a car accident, Marge makes the decision that she is not about to go live with the grandparents in Scottsdale and makes a beeline to Mexico to find her estranged father, Jackson, who is portrayed by Zahn. Now, Jackson is a former soccer star who coaches a women’s soccer team all while drowning in a drinking problem. He isn’t father material, but he’s all she’s got. So yes, Gringa is definitely a messy film.
The script drafted by Patrick Hasburgh attempts to touch on a great deal of topics and this is Zahn’s best performance in a while, and he certainly puts in the work. Even with the dialogue being a stretch at times, Zahn is giving it his all, and it is refreshing to see how this talented actor can take a mediocre film and infuse it with some life.
Gravitas Ventures, a smaller indie distributor, picked Gringa up and the film had a successful festival visit where they won awards at the Breckenridge Festival of Film (Audience Award, Feature Film), the Durango Film Festival (Audience Award, Narrative Feature), Gasparilla International Film Festival (Audience Award, Narrative Feature & Best Performance award for Gabor), Whistler Film Festival (Audience Award, Narrative Feature), and Lady Filmmakers Film Festival (Feature Film). Gringa, co-directed by Marny Eng and E.J. Foerster, is made to please audiences and indeed, it is an enjoyable film.
Gringa is a tad too relaxed for too long. Though it addresses gravitas issues, it sadly only scratches the surface and never truly drills down enough to be the emotionally captivating film it aims to be. Gringa is entertaining, but the film could have been better.
Gringa is as good as it gets, all because of the team behind it. Gabor is mesmerizing in the role of a young woman who possesses so many challenges life throws at her, and faces them with so much grace and determination. I imagine even Zahn would have to agree that she steals the film. McKenzie and Gabor are exceptional, as are Wilke and Buzzurro, but what I believe does not help even established actors like Zahn is that the script does not provide adequate parts for these talented performers to work with. Despite Zahn’s character, Jackson, being underwritten, he understands what needs to be done, and does it beautifully. He is a lovable alcoholic who acknowledges that he has lost his career and family to alcohol and wonders if there is more to life. Valentina also wowed me as Azusana although she suffers from the same fate of being greatly underdeveloped.
As much overacting as there is a tad of in the film, the superb lensing of Peter Wilke compensates and keeps us wrapped way too immersed to notice. I believe Tim Williams’s original score works well and sets a rhythm pleasant enough to work with the film’s content change in moods.
Gringa is far from a perfect movie, but it is very enjoyable, especially with the incredible performances from Gabor and Zahn and storyline that makes you want to cheer for everything to work out, although the emotional attachment does not reach the desired level.
The film ‘Gringa’ has only been released for limited viewing so far, but its reputation certainly precedes it. After all, it has won multiple audience awards over the festival circuit so far. That alone should indicate how entertaining and well-made the film is, and you certainly won’t be disappointed if you see it.
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