Her
name is Robin, but her mother calls her “Bird.” Obviously, they live in LA,
because any New Yorker would automatically think of Robin Byrd, the notoriously
naughty fixture of Manhattan public access cable. Young Bird needs a lesson in
the birds and the bees, because she is about to get her first monthly reminder
of womanhood, but her aging party-girl mother can’t handle real stuff like that
in Dorie Barton’s Girl Flu (trailer here), which releases today on VOD.
White
jeans, school outing. Yes, Bird’s first period is pretty much a perfect storm
of yuckiness. Jenny is a mom, but she is not naturally mothering, but
fortunately her no-nonsense pal Lilli sits Bird down for a brutally frank what’s
what. Ironically, she even gets more compassion and practical advice from Arlo,
her mom’s musician boyfriend, who is bizarrely losing patience with Jenny’s
reluctance to commit.
Basically,
Jenny’s casual mishandling of one of the biggest mother-daughter moments of
them all unleashes Bird’s resentments, amplified by the girl’s jittery
hormones. Clearly, she was not happy before, but her mother just buried her
head in the sand. Aside from Arlo and maybe Lilli, the only one who really
listens to her is Carlos, a smitten classmate who happens to have six older
sisters.
Generally,
Girl Flu is a likable indie, but
there are two scenes in which Bird tries to pass off Arlo as her boyfriend that
are unspeakably creepy. Although the older character never does anything
inappropriate, he is probably still lucky to avoid arrest and prosecution.
Despite
that uncomfortableness, Jeremy Sisto is terrific as Arlo. He is a smart, funny,
and grounding presence, but as a professional musician, you’d think he’d occasionally
play his instrument. Seriously, this cat doesn’t even practice.
