Girl in Progress

Grace is a single mother trying to stay on top of her job, her bills and a relationship with a married doctor, which leaves little room for her thirteen-year-old daughter, Ansiedad. When her English teacher introduces the class to coming-of-age classics, Ansiedad takes them as a blueprint and sets out to become an adult on her own, with help from her best friend Tavita. Mother and daughter end up confronting what growing up actually requires.

Patricia Riggen directed the film, her third feature after Under the Same Moon and Lemonade Mouth, from a screenplay by Hiram Martinez. Eva Mendes plays Grace, Cierra Ramirez plays Ansiedad, and Matthew Modine, Landon Liboiron, Patricia Arquette and Raini Rodriguez round out the cast. It was produced by Ben Odell and John Fiedler and released in May 2012, running 93 minutes.

The film had a budget of 5 million USD and took in roughly the same amount worldwide, so it did not turn a profit at the box office. Audiences are lukewarm on it: on TMDB it holds a rating of 5.6 out of 10 from 122 votes, and on IMDb it sits at 4.6 out of 10 from 45 reviews. Both figures point to a modest reception rather than a strong one.