Sherrybaby

A film where Danny Trejo plays the good guy simply can’t be good. (10.07.2006)

It wouldn't have been a bad social drama if only the story had a point. I did once give it three stars, but on reflection, I think I was influenced by how Maggie Gyllenhaal showcased almost all of her talents. It’s true that her performance was one of the few positives of this film for me even today, but after a rewatch, not even full-frontal nudity would make it worth three stars. I did have one major issue with the film. It was made according to the same or very similar muster as many films before it. The protagonist went to jail for stealing to get drug money, but it wasn't really her fault because her daddy loved her too much and drugs were the only reasonable way out. While I'm no psychologist or psychiatrist, and I'm willing to admit that bad childhood experiences can be traumatizing, I also think it depends mostly on how you approach them. Making excuses for a bastard who murders people for his own gratification and feeds the leftovers to pigs just because he had a difficult childhood is misguided, to say the least. It's as stupid as considering alcohol and drugs as a mitigating factor in crime. In short, the filmmakers obviously wanted me to sympathize with Sherry, but as the plot progressed, I found her increasingly unlikeable, and I couldn’t care less about what was going to happen to her. The creators of Maid (series) (2021) went about it differently, and I think that they found a better way. / Lesson learned: Self-pity is worse than pity. (20.08.2022)

Some movies rely on the lead actor. In this case, it is the lead actress. Maggie Gyllenhaal is a great actress whom I personally admire, partly because she is not one of the American beauties, but just a beautiful woman. In the movie "Sherrybaby", she showcased her talents and beauty, both in terms of her acting and her physical appearance. Her fellow actors cannot compare to her, all attention is focused on her and she does everything to handle it. She succeeds, her role is quite well-written. Which is also her only role in a way. There are suggested motifs here, all to show how a person can hit rock bottom and what helps them in that. There are countless influences and Sherry has encountered a great deal of them. Drugs, friends who abandon you, a father who likes to get physical when no one is around, and ultimately herself, who thinks she is the center of the universe and everything should happen to her advantage. It doesn't happen that way and she struggles to cope with it. Especially with the fact that she is not raising her daughter, who no longer calls her mom but Sherry. Her brother and his wife are now the parents. She tries to bond with her daughter, but it is complicated. It is difficult to fully support her character, but Maggie has something in her that doesn't completely discourage you. Just when you start to get a little closer to her, the movie suddenly ends. The short duration is nice, but it ends at the most interesting part. It's a shame, a few extra minutes would have been fitting. More: http://www.filmovy-denik.cz/2012/12/sherrybaby-lets-dance-unesena.html (03.03.2013)