The sad thing about predominately African-American films that are put together on a low budget is that most of them glorify crime, violence, and sex; not that there is necessarily anything wrong with that if the story lines are compelling, but it isn't the only portrayal of the Black community I want to see on film. When a positive film is recommended to me, the change is refreshing.
American Girl starts off tragic but ends on a very high note. It isn't the plot you expected, and unlike others that are a cautionary tale, it isn't the ending that you would expect either. The film is in high definition but it comes across as though it was shot with digital cameras as opposed to being shot on high end equipment.
There are a lot of things that occur in the film that do not make sense, or are divorced from the reality of how things typically occur in similar situations. But I took that as the point of the film, rather than a directive to suspend reality and disbelief for me to come to terms with what was actually occurring.
My only criticism of the film is that it portrays a rural, hillbilly, or "bumpkin" type of character that not only knows nothing about life in the big city, but is ignorant to the realities of life in general, and you can't casually dismiss this for the age of the character either. If you can get past that you should be able to enjoy this film. It reminded me of some of the elements in Emma Mae (1976).
Again there are hundreds of gems like this hidden on free, or relatively cheap, streaming services that the algorithm pops up every now and then. I will be on the lookout for this director.
