In this week\u2019s fringe VOD releases, a heartwarming documentary and a sardonic thriller take down the hellscape of capitalism, a novelist and a trans woman go on fraught journeys into their troubled pasts, and an Irish girl meets the ghost of one of her ancestors.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
A Greyhound of a Girl <\/em><\/strong>(VOD November 1):<\/strong> With its verdant rolling hills, Irish flute-drenched score, and voice performances from Sharon Horgan and Brendan Gleeson, this bland, innocuous animated movie strains hard to seem as Irish as possible, although it\u2019s a multi-national co-production from Italian director and co-writer Enzo D\u2019Al\u00f2. That explains a weird running joke about the low-quality pasta cooked by the main character\u2019s mother, which her grandmother calls \u201cas Italian as Bono.\u201d The movie is about as Irish as a Bono impersonator, but it\u2019s a sometimes sweet, well-intentioned story about grief and generational legacy, as 11-year-old Mary (Mia O\u2019Connor) deals with the impending death of her grandmother (Rosaleen Linehan) while communing with the spirit of her late great-grandmother (Charlene McKenna). The supernatural aspect is a jarring intrusion into a more grounded story about Mary\u2019s ambitions to become a chef, and the various thematic elements fit together awkwardly. The retro animation is simple but sometimes shaky, and A Greyhound of a Girl<\/em> similarly never quite finds the right balance of sincerity and blarney. Grade: C+<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n Starring Jerry as Himself<\/em><\/strong> (Select theaters November 6; VOD November 8):<\/strong> Although it\u2019s produced on a much smaller scale, this docufiction hybrid fits perfectly alongside The Beekeeper<\/em> and Thelma<\/em> in the year of the senior citizen scam movie. Florida-based Taiwanese immigrant Jerry Hsu plays himself in a series of re-enactments about the long-term con that bilked him out of his life savings, while his family members remained unaware. Director Law Chen presents those scenes like a suspense thriller, as Jerry is duped into believing that he\u2019s carrying out a mission for the Chinese police to root out an international money launderer. It\u2019s pretty obvious what\u2019s really going on, but Chen puts the audience alongside Jerry to show how easy it was for him to get roped in, and the Hsu family are endearingly awkward performers in the cinematic reconstruction of their own lives. There are serious messages here, but as in those other movies, they\u2019re presented as part of an entertaining, engaging narrative with a protagonist who\u2019s nearly as charismatic as Jason Statham or June Squibb. Grade: B+<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n American Meltdown<\/em><\/strong> (VOD November 8):<\/strong> The righteous fury at capitalist exploitation from the two leads in writer-director Andrew Adams\u2019 debut feature comes off as a watered-down take on Fight Club<\/em>, and the dark comedy is as toothless as the social message. Still, stars Jacki Von Preysing and Nicolette Sweeney have strong chemistry as a pair of misfits who find common ground in taking down (a small part of) the system, and Adams\u2019 points about predatory landlords and the indignities of the gig economy are well-founded. After getting laid off from a contract job and returning home to the aftermath of a break-in, Olivia (Von Preysing) meets free-spirited pickpocket Mari (Sweeney), who encourages her to forcefully reject the obligations of mainstream society. There are hints at a more dangerous agenda, but Adams rejects that potential complexity in favor of easy fist-pumping moments of victory against cartoonish authority figures. Olivia engages in wanton destruction of everything she previously held dear, and the movie just makes it look like a fun, Instagram-friendly road trip. Grade: C+<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n