Tracy (Lola Kirke) is a college literature freshman eager to be in New York. However, she is unable to connect anywhere. She fails to get into the literary society. Tony is her only new friend who also failed to get in. Then he starts dating the possessive Nicolette. Tracy's mother suggests meeting her future step-sister Brooke (Greta Gerwig). Brooke is a self-obsessed over-confident thirty year old pushing to open her own restaurant. Tracy is completely taken and inspired to write a short story based on her.

There are some funny stuff as Greta Gerwig goes over the top with her character. It has some poignancy with Lola Kirke until the climatic confrontation. It goes over into farce for a second. Noah Baumbach has the movie building up to a compelling fun emotional resolution. He pushes a little too hard. There needs to be more variation to the characters' reaction. They need to voice their own complaints about Tracy. It also wouldn't hurt if Karen and Harold don't care while talking about themselves. The scene is wrong but it could have been hilarious. Otherwise, there are some good fun laughs to be had.

Mistress America is supposedly a quirky homage to screwball comedies from director Noah Baumbach. I think he should had taken advise from Peter Bogdanovich as to how to make modern screwball comedies.

Tracy (Lola Kirke) is a misfit college freshman at a small university in New York where she is a little lonely and lost. She starts to hang out with her 30 year old step sister to be the malevolent Brooke (Greta Gerwig). Brooke's father is due to marry Tracy's mother.

Tracy at first becomes captivated by Brooke's creativity, worldliness and carefree lifestyle. Brooke is angry that her previous creative ideas have been stolen and desires to open a restaurant but requires investors when her Greek boyfriend bales out. As explored in Baumbach's previous film 'When we're Young' the younger Tracy soon leeches from the older Brooke as she pilfers elements of Brooke's life for a short story.

The film feels to much like a stage play, they literally do stand around as if they were on stage. They even deliver lines like the audience were in the same auditorium. The more people and talk over each other the film comes across as dull.

If they did not mention things like Twitter and Google, I could swear the film was set in the 1980s as the soundtrack consists of 1980s mainly British synth music. Songs by Orchestral Manoeuvres in the Dark turn up a few times.

The film is in a minor key. It weaves from being smart and sassy to being just dull. At the end the younger Tracy realises that the older Brooke is destined for failure as she cannot follow up on her creativity. Tracy feels smug about it.

America ... does she talk a lot? Is this going to be political? Well not really, and especially not as charged as anything you could say right now (2019),where no matter what side you prefer (Dems/Rep),you will likely not hear the others out. So let's leave that behind and maybe when you are reading this, it won't play a role anymore anyway ... let's hope so.

Let's take this for what it is. A movie where people talk a lot, make a lot of snarky (funny to some) comments about society, about themselves about relationships about so many other things regarding life ... Now if that sounds like something you have seen one of the leading ladies (Greta) in it - you are not off at all. That is her thing though in this case, there is someone else who plays the very main character. The characters may do stuff that may feel wrong (because they are morally speaking),depending on how much you care also - hopefully that won't muddle the experience for you. Because this is more than decent enough if you like dramas ...