Dir: Patricia Riggen. US. 2012. 92mins

The latest in a string of independent US releases aimed at the growing Latino market, Girl In Progress is a watchable mother-daughter coming-of-age tale with a grungy Seattle backdrop but the feel of a quirky TV sitcom. A decent cast and English language dialogue will give the Panamax Films production a better chance than most of finding its target audience.

Mendes is appealing as the childlike Grace and Ramirez shows real promise as the serious-minded Ansiedad.

A limited US theatrical release through Pantelion Films - the joint venture between Lionsgate and Mexican media giant Televisa - on May 11 (Mother's Day weekend in the US) should at least set up the film, which will skew heavily female, for a solid performance on video and TV. Hispanic territories might produce modest international revenue, though probably from ancillary rather than theatrical exposure.

Eva Mendes (best known from The Other Guys, 2 Fast 2 Furious and other mainstream hits) plays single mother Grace, a hard working waitress whose struggles to pay the bills and keep up a romance with her married boyfriend (played by Matthew Modine) stop her paying enough attention to teenage daughter Ansiedad (Cierra Ramirez).

Introduced to classic coming-of-age stories by a kindly teacher (Patricia Arquette), Ansiedad decides to her accelerate her own move into womanhood and become independent of her mother. …