wes-connors 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.

Screen-7 This is one of the better coming-of-age movies you probably have never seen. It's a real gem of a movie.It's not easy to watch, that's for sure. There isn't a high-functioning person in the bunch but just about all of them have some redeeming qualities.It's downright painful, at points, but even the bad characters manage to endear themselves to the viewer.I grew up in the "white trash" culture and this movie has the ring of truth, to me. The characters in this movie certainly have their counterparts in the real world I come from! When watching the movie, it never occurred to me that the director was insinuating that all low-income people or southerners are like this. Just one very interesting family.If you like to find hidden film gems, be sure to rent or TiVo "Amerian Girl." I just love these low-budget movies that are more powerful than the mega-million dollar movies.

stephenpaultaylor The only reason I gave this movie a two was because it had nice lighting. The actors were all well-lit, and they all looked fairly nice. Except the dad, who looked pretty rough. Oh, and the colours were nice; some interesting compositions in the frame (to take us away from the blasé story, of course) This was a movie that went nowhere. If you loved Election, Blue Car and American Beauty; if you love film-making and want to see films that have scripts that are finely hued and well-thought out; if you like a certain degree of artistry present in a film, or even if you just like to watch a dang good flick, avoid this at all costs.It's a film that goes nowhere and fulfills nothing. We rented it because of what was written on the back, but it was deceitful. It's not a black comedy because three funny moments do not a funny black movie make. Lifting the "kid constantly trying to off herself" concept straight from Harold and Maude is nothing short of thievery. Oh, no, wait, it's cleverly done because she tries to use a plastic fork... that's right. Even the half-hearted attempt to tackle a somewhat taboo subject (which might really take it into "black" comedy territory, or at least "black" something) like incest is thwarted by this throwaway line about the character's "dead" father, obviously saying that this father isn't her blood father anyway, so, phew, it's not so bad. And, like everything else in this movie, that subplot died a thin death with no resolution.So not only was this film lame, but spineless, too. It was too scared to tackle a real, disturbing issue with a certain degree of resonance, in preference of the "disney world" subtext.One of my problems with this film was that it just didn't seem well thought out. The dialogue felt sloppy and obvious. The characters were cardboard characters; the slutty daughter, the suicidal daughter, the pot smoking mom, the dad who just doesn't give a sh*t and never did... the mom writing postcards to the daughter, signing them "love dad", so she'd at least feel like he loved her; It had some interesting ideas buried way beneath the melodrama and weak storyline. It's too bad it was treated with such a heavy hand.

TorX0029 "American Girl" is a wonderful movie about the girl Rena (played by Jena Malone from Donnie Darko) who lives with her family in a trailer. She has to hide when she's with her boyfriend so nobody sees him with her, and her father is in prison for life. After various attempts to kill herself, she decides to visit her father in prison to tell him the news: she is pregnant...The film is funny in a tragic sort of way, and it takes up some serious issues in life. Very recommendable.