Sweet Girl (2021)

 

Streaming Services: Netflix
Movie Name/Year: Sweet Girl (2021)
Genre: Action, Drama, Thriller
Length: 109 minutes
Rating: R
Production/Distribution: ASAP Entertainment, On The Roam, Pride of Gypsies, Netflix
Director: Brian Andrew Mendoza
Writers:  Gregg Hurwitz, Philip Eisner
Actors: Jason Momoa, Isabela Merced, Adria Arjona, Amy Brenneman, Brian Howe, Justin Bartha, Katy M. O'Brian, Lex Scott Davis, Manuel Garcia-Rulfo, Michael Raymond-James, Nelson Franklin, Reggie Lee
 
Blurb from IMDb:  A devastated husband vows to bring justice to the people responsible for his wife's death while protecting the only family he has left, his daughter.

Cat’s Point of View:
Selina and I both listed Sweet Girl as our #5 pick for the Top 20 Movies to Look Out For in August 2021, and for similar reasons. Between the cast and the story the trailer alluded to, Sweet Girl seemed like a sure bet.
 
The US Healthcare system is woefully broken. The attempts to try and level the playing field to make healthcare more affordable have been nerfed and undermined at every turn, so that it’s not even a good temporary bandage for the hemorrhagic situation. It’s disgusting how these big companies are bleeding people dry, or simply only offering the well-to-do the options for treatment.

 
Now, there are some that do go out of their way to try and help the patients that rely on their medicines. I’ve been relatively lucky with the company that makes my MS medicine which has kept me stable for going on 7 years now. They offer copay assistance programs and help to secure grants for medicine costs. Even with Medicare coverage, if I had to pay my 20% of the medicine cost out-of-pocket, it would be $2,000.00 per month. I am thankful every day for the help that I’ve received – but there are too many that aren’t as lucky. There are too many deciding between food and shelter and lifesaving medicine.
 
It’s hard not to go on a bit of a rant tangent when subjects like this come up. It’s something I can’t ignore and hits close to home for me. Pardon my digression.

 
What I got out of the trailer for Sweet Girl was Jason Momoa’s (Bullet to the Head, Frontier, See) character going on an action-filled revenge-fueled quest to expose a Big Pharma executive for the actions that led to the death of his wife. The pressing question here is whether or not the movie delivered. The verdict? Sort of. Was it as good as I was expecting? I’m still processing through that.
 
Sweet Girl is proving to be a bit divisive with audiences. I’ve seen critics argue that the film tries to do too much, that it’s predictable, and that it was too long. I can give them a couple of those points. It was on the long side for an action movie, and there were predictable elements within the story.

At the same time, one shouldn’t expect that diving down the Big Pharma rabbit hole would be cut and dry. I appreciated the layers within the story, and there were some twists that I didn’t exactly see coming. Now that the credits have rolled and I reflect on Sweet Girl, though, I can see some of the breadcrumbs that were left along the way.
 
I do feel that I must put my foot down and disagree with those that were unhappy with Isabela Merced’s (Sicario: Day of the Soldado, Instant Family, Spirit Untamed) performance. Were we watching the same movie? I thought she kicked ass and captured the nuances of her character well.
 
I’d have to say that while I wasn’t disappointed in Sweet Girl, it could have used a little more polish. That being said, I generally enjoyed the experience and can only recommend that anyone on the fence simply give it a shot and see for yourself. 

Rotten Tomatoes Critic Score – 21%
Rotten Tomatoes Audience Score – 50%
Metascore – 43%
Metacritic User Score – None
IMDB Score – 5.6/10
 
Trust the Dice: Cat’s Rating – 3/5
 
Movie Trailer: