girl movie review 2020

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Girl – Movie Review (4/5)

Posted by Karina "ScreamQueen" Adelgaard | Nov 16, 2020 | 3 minutes

GIRL is a new thriller with a mystery. The main theme is revenge, but nothing seems to go as planned. A simple story with fascinating characters and solid performances. Bella Thorne is direct and raw in the title role. Read our full Girl movie review here!

GIRL is a new thriller by writer-director, Chad Faust, who also co-stars in the movie. While the main theme of the story is all about getting revenge, most of what happens is wrapped up in a mystery. And yes, you will get the answers you need before the credits roll across the screen. 

Overall, parts of this movie will probably feel familiar but it’s also a very fresh take on a well-known story about small-town dictators and bullies. A very strong feature film debut for the actor turned writer-director.

Continue reading our full Girl review below.

Proof that less is more

If you’ve read the plot for  Girl , then you will know everything you need prior to watching this movie. The plot is very simple, but it only really describes the circumstances. What happens throughout the movie is what really makes it work.

I  loved  the fact that while the simple story unravels with more details and background information, there is no need to tack on any additional plot twists. Usually, screenwriters just cannot keep themselves from adding more drama and mystery to their stories. And if they can, then producers or directors will demand more.

In this case, the writer is the director as well as the co-star, and clearly has a tight grip on what this story needs.

While Bella Thorne is paramount to the success of this movie since she plays the title role, the woman portraying her mother is also damn cool. Known only as “Mama” in the credits – just as Bella Thorne is known only as “Girl” – she is portrayed by Elizabeth Saunders. You may recognize her from  It (2017) as well as TV series such as  Orphan Black , The Strain , or  Alias Grace .

Oh, Mickey…

I do have to mention that while Mickey Rourke is still a good actor, his face is becoming an increasingly distracting factor. I’m sorry (not really!) but I  need some sort of explanation. It’s a downright unnatural look and just a simple line to explain it. “Ever since my face got f*cked up in that accident, I haven’t been able to whistle” or something would help a lot .

In other words, I need it to be acknowledged, or else it is simply too much of a distraction.

Instead, I forget to pay attention to the dialogue because I’m wondering what happened to his mouth since the last movie I saw him in. And yes, his acting still does work, so please, help the audience pay attention to that instead of his face. It’s human nature to wonder and be curious, so help us along.

Watch  Girl in theaters and on VOD!

As already mentioned,  Girl  was written and directed by Chad Faust. While he has already written and directed a few short films, this is his first feature film and it’s a damn strong one. Not too many characters and not even a huge budget. However, with a solid story and good performances from your cast, you’re more than halfway there before shooting even begins.

For Bella Thorne, this is a great role to show a much more serious side of her. Sure, she’s been in genre films such as  The Babysitter   and – more recently – the sequel The Babysitter: Killer Queen . However, while she is definitely out there in those movies, they are also very much horror-comedies.

You might like:  Our review of the Netflix horror-comedy The Babysitter 2 co-starring Bella Thorne here >

There is nothing funny about the happenings in  Girl . Or actually, Chad Faust himself does play “The Charmer” who will probably make you smile. But that’s still in a very different kind of way than a horror-comedy would.

GIRL will open in select theaters on November 20, 2020, before arriving on VOD platforms on November 24, 2020.

Writer & Director: Chad Faust Stars: Bella Thorne, Chad Faust, Mickey Rourke, Lanette Ware, Elizabeth Saunders, Glen Gould, John Clifford Talbot

In GIRL, A young woman (Bella Thorne) returns to her small hometown to exact revenge on her abusive father, only to discover someone murdered him the day before. As the girl searches for answers, she soon finds herself prey to a sinister sheriff (Mickey Rourke) and uncovers a family legacy more disturbing than she’d imagined.

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About The Author

Karina "ScreamQueen" Adelgaard

I write reviews and recaps on Heaven of Horror. And yes, it does happen that I find myself screaming, when watching a good horror movie. I love psychological horror, survival horror and kick-ass women. Also, I have a huge soft spot for a good horror-comedy. Oh yeah, and I absolutely HATE when animals are harmed in movies, so I will immediately think less of any movie, where animals are harmed for entertainment (even if the animals are just really good actors). Fortunately, horror doesn't use this nearly as much as comedy. And people assume horror lovers are the messed up ones. Go figure!

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Movie Review: Girl (2020)

• Natasha Alvar
• Movie Reviews
• --> January 22, 2021

Girl , written, directed and starring Chad Faust (“Better Start Running”), is effective when it comes to mood and atmosphere. The problem, however, is that there isn’t enough substance to make Faust’s stylish choices mean something, so this thriller comes across as more empty that gratifying. It begins with the titular “Girl” (Bella Thorne, “The Babysitter: Killer Queen”) on a bus, headed to see her no-good abusive father, with the sole intention of killing him. Thorne — not exactly known for her range as an actress — does well here, parading around with a false bravado, only letting her vulnerability show when she discovers that someone beat her to the punch, and now she has a dead father, with no idea who did it or why.

As she heads back into town, eager to get some answers from the locals, including among others, prostitute Betty (Lanette Ware, “Anything for Jackson”), she is met with a constant refrain: To leave Golden County while she still can. Just when you think she might take this bit of advice, she runs into Charmer (Faust) — all you have to do is turn to his name to have an idea of what his character is like. Their interactions together make us feel a bit happy for Girl, since she seems to be a bit of a loner and a drifting persona despite her connection to her mother back home. Faust’s Charmer is really good at swindling us to let our guard down, and I have to say that his character is perhaps the most compelling part of the film.

Once, however, it is revealed who the killers of Girl’s father are, the more interesting facets of Girl just go downhill from there, because now there’s less investigative conversation and suspense, and more scenes with Girl either being subjected to violence or being threatened by violence. I mean heck, Mickey Rourke (“ Berlin, I Love You ”) always plays this kind of slime bag characters, so it didn’t really surprise me that he was involved somehow, even if he was cast as the sheriff. And while I fully understand Girl being compelled to find out who murdered her father (even though she was planning on doing the exact same thing to him), and the film does well in communicating the complexities there, we, the viewers, don’t really know her father, nor do we feel like we have to care about the murder mystery in any way, shape or form.

What Girl does establish is that Bella Thorne has it in her to take on more challenging roles. Before this, as she moved towards her post-Disney image, she took on roles that basically established her as the beautiful, sexy (and more often than not, mean) girl, so she never really got to stretch her acting range. Chad Faust also has a bright future ahead, be it in acting or directing. Considering this is his directorial debut he does manage to craft quite the visually-satisfying film even if the screenplay (Faust’s second) needed some additional tinkering.

Tagged: father , girl , investigation , murder , secret , sheriff

Natasha is an English Literature teacher. She believes that stories are the essence of being human, and loves sharing this world with her students. One day, she hopes to break into the literary world with an offering of her own, but for now, she finds enjoyment in writing plays for her students as well as penning content for The Critical Movie Critics. She also writes for moviebabblereviews.com in her spare time. You can follow her @litmysoul on Instagram, if you want.

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Film review: girl (2020).

Jasmine Bechard 01/19/2021 Film Reviews

A girl leaves home in pursuit of revenge, only to find things are not what they seem.

Warning: Spoilers Ahead

After looking at the promo material and pictures of this film I have to admit I wasn’t thinking it would be a memorable watch. However, Girl really surprised me.

Bella Thorne plays the main character who avenges her mother by seeking out her dad that left when she was 6. At first, Thorne’s acting seemed forced and stagnant, but as the movie progressed it was evident that she was just heavily in character. I liked her performance a lot more than I was anticipating in the beginning and it made the movie slightly more enjoyable.

As she gets into town, most people, except for a bartender and a friend of her father’s, clearly aren’t friendly and nothing is what it seems. When she finds her dad murdered, something that she wanted to do herself, she is hell-bent on finding who did it and her anger intensifies. Something that this movie had a lot of is intense tension and intrigue. I really enjoyed the feeling of unease that lingered throughout the entire runtime. After being warned by countless locals of “The Brothers”, the girl finds out that they’re the ones who killed her father.

Now, I can’t tell if I liked or disliked the fact that the main character and others didn’t go by their name. It sure added to the mystery of the movie but in my case, it led to not being able to connect to the story as much as I’d like to.

As the movie progresses, the girl starts to discover that both her mother and father maybe aren’t who she thought they were. After an encounter with one of the brothers, she comes to find out that they are her uncles and they are looking for money that her father kept. The girl’s world turns upside down as she learns that her father was saving money for her and her mom has been lying to her for years. Her mom finds her, as well as one of her dead brothers, and finally tells the girl the truth. The girl ends up not killing her mother and finds peace within herself and with her father.

Ultimately, I liked this film a lot more than I thought I was going to. The cast was incredible and added to the gritty feeling of the story. Chad Faust who directed, wrote, and acted as one of the brothers in the film did an incredible job. Not only was the directing and writing commendable for the most part, but he was also a great fit for his character as one of the brothers known as “The Charmer”. I also enjoyed Lanette Ware’s performance as Betty. She brought a freshness and likability to the movie that was needed. The music in the film was a perfect match to what was going on and enhanced the experience tenfold.

As for the negatives of the film, I think it maybe could’ve had a longer runtime in order to enhance the depth of the plot and storyline. As much as I liked what they were going for, I definitely think a lot of things would have benefited from a longer runtime. It was also a bummer that there were no scenes involving the girl’s father. A flashback to the past, a scene where her father’s real note was read, etc. would’ve added so much more to a story where her father is one of the main focuses.

Overall, I enjoyed this movie. It had cool kills in it and a family so dysfunctional that it was almost hard to keep up with their shenanigans at times. Everything fit well together and the performances and quality were a welcome surprise. All it was missing was a more in-depth storyline and an appearance from the girl’s father. I recommend this one for at least a one-time watch and maybe even a second!

I give Girl a B.

Tags 2020 Bella Thorne Chad Faust Elizabeth Saunders GIRL Glen Gould Lanette Ware Mickey Rourke

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Common sense media reviewers.

Drama about transgender dancer has nudity, bullying.

A Lot or a Little?

What you will—and won't—find in this movie.

It would be nearly impossible to understand agony

Lara is a brave young teenager transitioning from

Classmates bully Lara. While Lara is right there,

Lara tapes her male genitals so they don't show un

"S--t," "d--k," "vagina," "penis," "glans," "clito

A transitioning male-to-female teenage patient tak

Parents need to know that Girl is a 2018 Belgian film (with English subtitles) that follows Lara, a 15-year-old born as a boy and transitioning into a girl. She's been taking puberty-suppressing hormones with the goal of beginning a female hormone regimen and undergoing a surgical procedure to make her body…

Positive Messages

It would be nearly impossible to understand agony of being born into wrong gender body without going through that ordeal. Depressed teens can sometimes believe things will never get better, might lack patience to wait for improvements. Even someone with all support possible can still feel depressed.

Positive Role Models

Lara is a brave young teenager transitioning from male body she was born with to female body she knows suits her actual gender. She endures ridicule and stares, feels painfully uncomfortable in male body. She finds strength to proceed with potentially dangerous procedure. Her father is supportive, encouraging as she undergoes transition. A single father raising two children supports his eldest lovingly, unconditionally.

Violence & Scariness

Classmates bully Lara. While Lara is right there, an insensitive teacher asks students if they mind if Lara uses the girls' bathroom. A dancer works so hard her feet bleed. She faints after a workout. In painful scene, Lara's "friends" pressure her into letting them see her penis.

Did you know you can flag iffy content? Adjust limits for Violence & Scariness in your kid's entertainment guide.

Sex, Romance & Nudity

Lara tapes her male genitals so they don't show under clothes. She must painfully remove tape every time she has to urinate. A male bare chest, penis are seen for seconds in mirror view. These views have little to do with sex and mostly suggest sense that the person is dissatisfied with the reflection. A person embarrassed about her body kisses a neighbor, won't let him touch her, gives him oral sex, runs away.

Did you know you can flag iffy content? Adjust limits for Sex, Romance & Nudity in your kid's entertainment guide.

"S--t," "d--k," "vagina," "penis," "glans," "clitoris," "breasts," "damn," and "bitch."

Did you know you can flag iffy content? Adjust limits for Language in your kid's entertainment guide.

Drinking, Drugs & Smoking

A transitioning male-to-female teenage patient takes puberty-suppressing drugs and later female hormones. A father asks his teen if she's had alcohol or smoked "dope."

Did you know you can flag iffy content? Adjust limits for Drinking, Drugs & Smoking in your kid's entertainment guide.

Parents Need to Know

Parents need to know that Girl is a 2018 Belgian film (with English subtitles) that follows Lara, a 15-year-old born as a boy and transitioning into a girl. She's been taking puberty-suppressing hormones with the goal of beginning a female hormone regimen and undergoing a surgical procedure to make her body conform to her self-image. Doctor visits and frank discussions with a supportive father and therapist candidly reveal the graphic details of what such a transformation entails, both physically and emotionally. This can be an uplifting document for those considering the same change, but be aware that bullying and depression result in a violent act (not shown). This also addresses universal body image issues that plague many teens not undergoing Lara's journey. A scene depicts oral sex, but no genitals are seen. Classmates at Lara's ballet school sometimes embrace and sometimes taunt her. Lara tapes her male genitals so they don't show under her clothes. A teen stands naked before a mirror, showing a penis. Language includes "s--t," "d--k," "vagina," "penis," "glans," "clitoris," "damn," and "bitch." To stay in the loop on more movies like this, you can sign up for weekly Family Movie Night emails .

Where to Watch

Videos and photos.

Community Reviews

• Parents say
• Kids say (2)

There aren't any parent reviews yet. Be the first to review this title.

What's the Story?

Lara is the title's Girl, born into a male body but identifying as female. At 15, poised to begin a course of female hormones in preparation for surgery, she lives in Belgium with her supportive father, Mathias (Arieh Woltholter), and 6-year-old brother, Milo (Oliver Bodart). They are doubly supportive in that they've uprooted themselves so that Lara can attend Belgian's best dance school, where she can improve her technique in the quest to become a ballerina. A team of doctors are preparing her for transition, including a therapist encouraging her not to put off living until she has the body she wants, advice that seems both supportive but also oblivious to Lara's discomfort. A guy in her new building catches her eye, and although she's still ashamed that her body doesn't match her identity, she pursues a sexual encounter that results in her giving him oral sex and then running away. Either one of the twin stresses in her life -- impatience for completing her transition or feeling inadequate as a dancer -- could wear down the strongest teenager. Together they bring her to a breaking point that results in self-injury. What the future holds for her remains undisclosed.

Is It Any Good?

Based on the true story of a ballerina named Nora Monsecour, the film is a riveting tribute to the courage of a young person undergoing the slow and difficult process of transition. Victor Polster, a cisgender male (born male and identifying as male), was cast as Lara for his resemblance to the dancer and for his acting and dance ability. Audiences should know that some in the transgender community have complained that Girl didn't cast a trans actor for the role, and that with its emphasis on body image, it's exploitive rather than representative.

Politics aside, Polster is moving and believable enough to make this feel at times like a documentary in which the audience has been invited to watch the transition process step-by-step. This may be jarring and discomforting for some but heartening and encouraging for those in the same position who are experiencing social backlash and have less supportive and encouraging parents. The movie takes pains to explore the ways in which simply being a dancer, surrounded by mirrors and unyielding body ideals, can set a youth on a path of body image pathology. Sensitive performances are given by all. The film was nominated for a Best Foreign Film Golden Globe and won the Camera d'Or at the Cannes Film Festival.

Talk to Your Kids About ...

Families can talk about how difficult it would be to feel trapped in the body of a gender that doesn't feel right. How do you think it would feel to know it would take medicine and surgery to allow you to be at home in your own body?

What do you think of the girls who bully Lara into showing her genitals? Why do you think they do it? Why do you think Lara relents after saying no so many times?

Why do you think people exclude those who are different? Do you think it comes from fear of the unknown? Or something else? What do you think people might be afraid of? Do you think racism and other kinds of hatred are also fear-based?

Movie Details

• On DVD or streaming : March 15, 2019
• Cast : Victor Polster , Arieh Wortholter , Oliver Bodart
• Director : Lukas Dhont
• Studio : Netflix
• Genre : Drama
• Run time : 109 minutes
• MPAA rating : R
• Last updated : April 5, 2023

Did we miss something on diversity?

Research shows a connection between kids' healthy self-esteem and positive portrayals in media. That's why we've added a new "Diverse Representations" section to our reviews that will be rolling out on an ongoing basis. You can help us help kids by suggesting a diversity update.

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Girl Reviews

Girl is a powerful intimate portrait that gives us a window into the psychology of its protagonist. And while it reflects her most dramatic reality, it does so with restraint and with a sensational use of the camera. [Full review in Spanish]

Full Review | Original Score: 4/5 | Nov 21, 2022

This is bleak, bloody and uncomfortable. It serves well as social commentary and succeeds on that level, but it refuses to let its protagonist simply be happy.

Full Review | Original Score: 3/5 | Sep 1, 2021

Girl is a very impressive debut feature film ... With devastating performances too, you'd have to have a heart of stone to remain unmoved.

Full Review | Original Score: 4/5 | Mar 25, 2021

At first Girl is a positive outlook but soon shows its tragic undertones. Lukas Dhont gives an intimate story with what feels like a positive and realistic experience.

Full Review | Original Score: 4/5 | Feb 3, 2020

Dhont has confidently elevated the typical coming-of-age story and thanks to Polster's wonderful performance, it is poignant as it is thoughtful.

Full Review | Original Score: 4/5 | Nov 7, 2019

In his first feature, Belgian writer/director Lukas Dhont has tightly packed a cinematic masterpiece into a topical powder keg.

Full Review | Original Score: 4.5/5 | Jul 5, 2019

The talent of the director consists in exploring, with discretion and without a hint of moralism, the complexity of this psychological trance. [Full Review in Spanish]

Full Review | Jun 12, 2019

What I found most interesting here was the father/daughter relationship, while the rest remains standardized and somewhat guessable.

Full Review | Original Score: 3/5 | Apr 9, 2019

This film makes a gentle point of the fact that transitioning isn't trouble-free even if most of the people around you are broadly sympathetic to the undertaking.

Full Review | Apr 3, 2019

Well worth seeing. [Full review in Spanish]

Full Review | Mar 25, 2019

Drama about transgender dancer has nudity, bullying.

Full Review | Original Score: 3/5 | Mar 22, 2019

Unfortunately, despite strenuous pretenses of compassion, Girl's escalating obsessions reprise long histories of cruel, transphobic storytelling.

Full Review | Mar 21, 2019

A curiously unjust, myopic, even dangerous movie.

Full Review | Mar 19, 2019

The movie's fundamental sympathy for Lara is clear. It's channelled through a subtle performance from Victor Polster...and it shapes several tender and credible scenes.

Full Review | Original Score: 3/5 | Mar 18, 2019

Polster is quite astounding for every second he is on screen here.

Full Review | Original Score: 4/5 | Mar 18, 2019

Monsecour's context makes Dohnt's direction, and Polster's performance, all the more remarkable for its subtlety and compassion. Just be ready to sit through a few rough scenes.

Full Review | Mar 18, 2019

A performance infused with great stillness and energy from actor/dancer Victor Polster drives Belgian director/co-writer Lukas Dhont's affecting if uneven coming-of-age tale.

Full Review | Original Score: 3/5 | Mar 17, 2019

Having seen the film, this cis critic certainly wouldn't claim to understand the reality of life as a trans person. It makes me want to, though.

Full Review | Original Score: 4/5 | Mar 15, 2019

Girl is beautifully made: it's also an education.

Full Review | Original Score: 5/5 | Mar 15, 2019

Even disregarding the controversy, Girl does not work, mainly because Dhont's focus is all wrong.

Full Review | Original Score: 1.5/4 | Mar 15, 2019

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Girl review – claustrophobic mother-daughter drama of immigrants in Glasgow

Writer-director Adura Onashile draws out brilliant performances in story of a frightened parent restricting her child’s adventures into independence

T his crushingly intimate drama occupies a space barely larger than a bedroom in the rundown council house where much of the story unfolds. Even on its few ventures outside, the location filming is delivered in tight closeups, the environment beyond the figures little more than colourful smeary blurs of light. You would hardly know it was shot in Glasgow.

The people at the centre of the story are young mother Grace (French actor Déborah Lukumuena, from Divines) and her pubescent daughter Ama (Le’Shantey Bonsu), immigrants from a non-specified country, now living in the aforementioned council flat. We learn that Grace gave birth to Ama at 14 and seems petrified about her daughter leaving the safety of their flat; it’s implied but never stated outright that Ama may have been conceived via rape or incest. At any rate, Grace is troubled when her child points out that she’s growing hair under her arms, which Grace plucks out immediately with tweezers. Later it’s clear poor Ama has no idea what it means when she starts menstruating.

Luckily for Ama, when her period starts she has at least one friend her age, impish classmate Fiona (Liana Turner) who gently explains that the bleeding means she can have a baby and shows her how to make a makeshift sanitary pad with a wad of toilet paper. Fiona also introduces Ama to makeup, dancing and running around shopping centres, all of which sets Grace into an anxiety spiral.

Writer-director Adura Onashile evokes the squelching intimacies between women, be they friends or blood relatives, bonds that can be both thrilling and suffocating. She draws out superb performances from the cast, not just the more experienced Lukumuena, who is terrific, but also the younger actors. On the down side, the writing is less satisfying, a little too hazy and fractured to let the drama build. But the jewel tones of Tasha Back’s cinematography are bewitching, as is the breathy, layered soundtrack by Ré Olunuga.

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It is a happy coincidence that our "What makes a good sex scene?" episode came out in the same week as Challengers, a film about a romance triangle in the tennis world starring Josh O'Connor, Zendaya and (not pictured) Mike Faist. Niko Tavernise/Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer Pictures hide caption

It is a happy coincidence that our "What makes a good sex scene?" episode came out in the same week as Challengers, a film about a romance triangle in the tennis world starring Josh O'Connor, Zendaya and (not pictured) Mike Faist.

What makes a good sex scene? It can be easier spot bad sex, but Aisha Harris, Christina Tucker, Ronald Young, Jr. and I tried to focus on the good this week on Pop Culture Happy Hour. You can listen to our full conversation here. (We didn't originally plan for this episode to run the same week as our episode about Challengers , which is out in theaters now, but it's a happy coincidence, since that film has gotten a lot of attention — probably too much, relative to its other merits — for the sex scenes involving its three leads. It's really very good .)

Movie Reviews

Watch a tense romantic triangle play out on the tennis court in 'challengers'.

It's often very obvious when a sex scene is bad, just like when a sex scene in a book is bad. It can get so uncomfortable to watch that you have to leave the room (and not in a way that feels true to the story). One of my personal tells for a bad sex scene is when all I can think about is how hard the actors are trying to persuade me that the characters are having a good time. For example, there has been much good discussion in recent years about Showgirls being a more interesting and competent project than it originally got credit for, but in that one pool scene (if you know it, you know it), all I can see is the effort.

Lauren Bacall And The 'Sex? What Sex?' Kind Of Movie Sex

It's not always as clear which scenes are good . That's partly because they serve so many different functions, all of which look different, and all of which can be effective. Furthermore, you don't want to confuse whether a sex scene is used well in a film with whether it's hot to you personally, despite the fact that there is overlap between those considerations.

In the 'Last Dance,' Magic Mike leaves his thong-and-dance routine behind

Here's what I mean: When Aisha talks about the sequence near the beginning of Magic Mike's Last Dance , it's not irrelevant that the scene is, to her (and to me), hot. But it also makes sense in the context of the film and the franchise, partly because of the way it sets up the power dynamic between Mike (Channing Tatum) and Max (Salma Hayek Pinault). Mike is older now, he knows more, and the way he approaches a lap dance is actually different than in earlier movies.

And not all good sex scenes are hot in the same ways. The one I mentioned in the episode, from the romantic drama Love & Basketball , is sexy, yes. But it's also a scene between young adults (the talented basketball players Monica and Quincy, played by Sanaa Lathan and Omar Epps), and as such, it incorporates a tentativeness that's not present in Magic Mike's Last Dance , to say the least. As Ronald pointed out during our discussion, that sex scene is quite different from one that takes place later in Monica and Quincy's relationship, when they're older and know each other better. That certainly feels true to real life, but it's not always reflected in Hollywood films, where I would tentatively estimate that 90% of on-screen sex is more idealized and thus less intimate than real-life sex, in part because it isn't allowed to change over the course of a relationship.

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'like it or not, we live in oppenheimer's world,' says director christopher nolan.

Even further from the hotness of the lap dance scene is Ronald's pick: the imagination of Kitty Oppenheimer (Emily Blunt) running wild in Oppenheimer. While her husband (Cillian Murphy) is being interrogated, she pictures him having sex with his mistress, Jean Tatlock (Florence Pugh). It goes by quickly enough that it might seem like a Christopher Nolan flourish for flourish's sake, but it serves the purpose of letting you feel her pain over her husband's affair. Her relationship with Robert doesn't look especially romantic in the film, let alone sexually charged; she finds herself consumed by the idea that he was having hot sex with this other woman, and she locks eyes with her vision of a naked Tatlock and finds herself tormented. It's not really the intent of the scene to titillate the audience, just to give specificity to the shape of Kitty's preoccupation with the affair.

What makes a good sex scene?

Christina raised another really important point, which is that sex scenes also collide with viewers at very specific moments. Her example from Bound , and the scenes between Violet (Jennifer Tilly) and Corky (Gina Gershon), touches on (among other things) her own history. It's an underappreciated aspect of the sex-in-movies discourse: representation matters in these scenes as much as anywhere else. I always wish I saw more sex scenes in movies that featured a broader variety of body types; it's still really rare to see ones that feature anybody who is even average sized. This is one of the reasons I'm curious about the upcoming season of Bridgerton , which places its focus on the gorgeous and curvaceous Penelope (Nicola Coughlan).

Looking for 'nomance': Study finds teens want less sex in their TV and movies

Good sex scenes are like any other kind of good filmmaking, honestly: it comes down to execution with purpose and care, done relative to whatever the function of the scene might be.

Whether that's spiciness or conflict or relationship growth or (as in the case of Bound ) setting up a steamy neo-noir story that wouldn't be the same if it weren't hot as heck, form follows function, ideally.

This piece also appeared in NPR's Pop Culture Happy Hour newsletter. Sign up for the newsletter so you don't miss the next one, plus get weekly recommendations about what's making us happy.

Listen to Pop Culture Happy Hour on Apple Podcasts and Spotify .

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With its release date pushed back a couple of times (never a good sign), the Belgian film "Girl," a first feature from director Lukas Dhont , limps onto Netflix this week, covered in a cloud of controversy. It began with the news of Dhont's decision to hold a gender-blind casting call for the lead role of Lara, a trans female ballet dancer, inspired by the journey of Belgian dancer Nora Monsecour. Gender-blind casting may have been well-intentioned but it was a powder keg in this case. Then came news of the casting of Victor Polster , a cis male, in the lead role, which inspired another round of criticism. Although I do my best to avoid buzz (negative or positive), especially if I'm assigned to review, it was impossible with "Girl" (and, in the case of "Girl," the controversy is a necessary part of the context, as is understanding why people are upset about it). "Girl" debuted at Cannes, winning a couple of plum awards (including the Camera d’Or for Best First Feature), and was nominated for a Golden Globe as well. All along, Monsecour, who collaborated with Dhont through the filming process, has weighed in with support of the film and its intentions, including its graphic depiction of self-harm. All of that being said, does "Girl" work as a film? No. It does not. 

The setup, briefly: Lara (Polster) lives with her father and little brother. The family has moved to the city so Lara can attend an elite ballet school. Simultaneously, she is in the beginning stages of gender transition, with hormone therapy, doctor consultations, etc. Her father is supportive of her, but is worried about her moodiness and her fraught relationship with her changing body. Lara has a lot of responsibility in the household, is more like a wife than a daughter, cooking, taking care of her dad and younger brother (who slips up occasionally, referring to Lara as "Victor," her old name).

The ballet classes are the best parts of "Girl," with Frank van den Eeden's cinematography tossing us into the midst of the classes, giving a visceral sense of the experience—the sounds of feet landing on wooden floors, the looks of concentration, the emotional pressure and competition, everyone keeping an eye on everyone else, as well as an overall sense of the overwhelming difficulty of ballet. To be even moderately "good" requires single-minded focus from the earliest age. Lara's challenges are different from her classmates. She is enrolled in this new school as a female, a controversial decision for her fellow classmates. Lara must devote herself to "catching up" with the other girls, all of whom have been training their feet for dancing en pointe since they were children. Lara has not trained that way, and she works hard with a private teacher, bending and warping her bloody feet into shape. All of this is really interesting!

Unfortunately, "Girl"'s fascination with Lara's gender transition translates into a leering focus on her genitals, shoulders and chest. Even disregarding the controversy, "Girl" does not work, mainly because Dhont's focus is all wrong. What's interesting in the story—Lara's experiences as a trans ballerina—is treated as background noise, or at least secondary to the obsession with what her body looks like. There's something voyeuristic about a camera zooming in repeatedly on a teenager's groin. Looping Lara's body hatred (there's no other word for how it's portrayed) in with being a ballet dancer seems like it would make sense—there's a lot of overlap—but that's not really explored. Instead, the camera seems to ask, repeatedly, "What's going on in her crotch?" Against advice, Lara tapes down her genitals, and there are numerous scenes of her rashes, her taping process, the pain it causes her. There's a very graphic scene of self-harm late in the film. The result of all of this is, I believe, unintended on the part of the director. 

"Girl" is meant to be an inspiring story of a person becoming who she wants to be. The seeds of that story are there in her private sessions with a ballet tutor, and in how hard she works at whipping her feet into pointe shape. It's inspiring! But the film's focus on her body and her increasing impatience to transition—her hatred of her body leading her to that act of self-harm—makes "Girl" a film about a child having a nervous breakdown. Drawing a link between being trans and having a nervous breakdown—and, worse, positioning her self-harm as the ultimate act of liberation—is extremely irresponsible. 

Polster has received praise for his performance, but I found him a lackluster onscreen presence, capable of playing only one note, and a boring note at that: the eye-rolling uncommunicative teenager. The challenge of casting Lara is obvious: whoever got the job had to be able to do the dancing. But Lara, as played by Polster, is non-revealing, quiet, and sullen. Her father keeps asking her what's wrong, and she says "Nothing" or "I don't know" over and over again. Teenagers can be like this, it's true, but a whole film of it is tiresome. There's no way in, especially when the camera keeps moving away from Polster's face, away from his bloodied hard-working feet, to his groin, again and again. Enough already.

Sheila O'Malley

Sheila O'Malley received a BFA in Theatre from the University of Rhode Island and a Master's in Acting from the Actors Studio MFA Program. Read her answers to our Movie Love Questionnaire here .

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Film credits.

Girl (2019)

105 minutes

Victor Polster as Lara

Arieh Worthalter as Father

Oliver Bodart as Milo

Tijmen Govaerts as Lewis

Chris Thys as Hannah

• Lukas Dhont
• Angelo Tijssens

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• Frank van den Eeden
• Alain Dessauvage
• Valentin Hadjadj

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After receiving an unexpected call from her wayfinding ancestors, Moana journeys to the far seas of Oceania and into dangerous, long-lost waters for an adventure unlike anything she has ever... Read all After receiving an unexpected call from her wayfinding ancestors, Moana journeys to the far seas of Oceania and into dangerous, long-lost waters for an adventure unlike anything she has ever faced. After receiving an unexpected call from her wayfinding ancestors, Moana journeys to the far seas of Oceania and into dangerous, long-lost waters for an adventure unlike anything she has ever faced.

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Every Single Star in Jerry Seinfeld's Wild Pop-Tart Movie

This ensemble is one tasty box of treats.

The biopic is one of Hollywood's most dominant genres in recent years , with all manner of subjects from the invention of the BlackBerry to the life of J. Robert Oppenheimer documented on the big screen. As soon as it feels like there may be no origin story left to tell, another one arrives, with the upcoming Unfrosted set to comically depict the tale behind the invention of the Pop-Tart .

Deviating from the usual dramatic tone of the biopic, Unfrosted is ready to use comedy to tell its story in a fictionalized fashion, with the iconic Jerry Seinfeld set to make his directorial debut in the feature from a screenplay he co-wrote alongside some other talented comic writers. Understandably, with such a great name at the helm, a plethora of major comic talents were destined to be involved, with the movie's final cast list nothing short of remarkable. With that in mind, here is a look at the cast and characters in Unfrosted .

Unfrosted: The Pop-Tart Story

Michigan 1963, business rivals Kellogg's and Post compete to create a cake that could change breakfast forever.

Jerry Seinfeld

An employee of Kellogg's, Bob Cabana is a character somewhat based upon William Post , the man who worked at Hekman Biscuit company since the age of 16 and worked his way right through to the top of the company, eventually inventing a humble toaster pastry known better to everyone as the Pop-Tart.

Stand-up comedian, writer, actor, producer, and now a feature film director, Jerry Seinfeld has done it all. From The Thing About My Folks to Bee Movie , Seinfeld's on-screen career has been nothing short of great. However, his magnum opus, Seinfeld , will forever be the one project he is most remembered for - not simply because it has his name in the title - a series he co-created with the iconic Larry David . In 2004, Comedy Central named Seinfeld the 12th greatest stand-up comedian of all time, an accolade he is more than well deserving of.

Melissa McCarthy

Donna stankowski.

Intelligent and funny, Donna Stanowski is a NASA scientist who joins the Kellogg's team alongside Seinfeld's Cabana.

Named one of Time's 100 Most Influential People in the World back in 2016 , Melissa McCarthy 's on-screen legacy is one of the best, highlighted by her two Primetime Emmys, two Golden Globes, and two Academy Award nominations. From her numerous big-budget Hollywood leading roles in the likes of Spy and The Heat to her humble beginnings as the adorable Sookie in Gilmore Girls , McCarthy's addition to the Unfrosted cast will likely bring millions flocking to their Netflix account to see what comic genius she has for them next.

Jim Gaffigan

Edsel kellogg iii.

As his name may suggest, the man who heads up the company, Edsel Kellogg III, is the head of Kellogg's and, perhaps more importantly, the boss of Seinfeld's Cabana.

One of the best-respected comedians working today , Jim Gaffigan 's penchant for relatable material has made him a fan favorite for lovers of clean comedy, with his plethora of comedy specials praised heavily by both the public and critics alike. From his beloved discography to his impressively long filmography, Gaffigan's career is showing no signs of slowing down. Alongside Unfrosted , the actor is set to also appear in Potsy Ponciroli 's Greedy People alongside Joseph Gordon-Levitt and Lily James .

Thurl Ravenscroft

Every great brand has a great mascot, with Kellogg's certainly no different. Thurl Ravenscroft is the actor hired to portray the iconic Tony the Tiger, with the role portrayed by Hugh Grant , as he continues on his journey of removing his once-thought atonal casting limitations.

Listed in Time Out magazine's 'Britain's 50 Greatest Actors of All Time', Hugh Grant's impact on British cinema since the mid-90s has been well-documented, with his filmography featuring some major hits including About a Boy , Love Actually , and Paddington 2 . Beloved for his work alongside filmmaker Richard Curtis , what was once one of Hollywood's go-to rom-com heartthrobs has evolved his style in recent years to include performances like Fletcher in The Gentlemen and as an Oompa-Loompa in the smash-hit Wonka .

Amy Schumer

Marjorie post.

Competition can make the talented soar, with Kellogg's competition coming in the form of Post, a cereal company led by Marjorie Post.

The often divisive but certainly talented Amy Schumer is a successful writer, actor, and stand-up comedian who has proven herself to be an impressive draw thanks to a previous 15 years that included some big-selling projects. From her sketch show Inside Amy Schumer to the starring role in Trainwreck , Schumer's most recent project, the Hulu comedy Life & Beth , has proved many of her doubters wrong thanks to her ability to seamlessly flow between tender drama and relatable comedy . Alongside Unfrosted , Schumer is also voicing Gummy Bear in the upcoming John Krasinski movie IF .

Christian Slater

Mike diamond.

Although there isn't much known about this character, we do know that Mike Diamond is both a milkman and supremely sinister, making him one of the more intriguing additions to Unfrosted .

An actor with an enormous pedigree , Christian Slater 's breakthrough role came as the sociopath Jason Dean in Heathers , with the Spiderwick Chronicles star never looking back. From big-budget movies to critically acclaimed series, Slater is perhaps best known in recent years for his title role in Mr. Robot , a performance that earned him a Golden Globe for Best Supporting Actor in 2016 , followed by subsequent nominations for the same award in the next two years.

President John F. Kennedy

A man who needs no introduction, President John F. Kennedy's legacy is one heavily documented by movies, with many looking to find new angles into his life. Unfrosted looks to be showing Kennedy through a different lens, as the former President plays a pivotal role in the rise of the Pop-Tart.

Perhaps not the first name you might expect to portray the President, Bill Burr 's cutthroat comedy turned him into one of the 21st century's most iconic comedians, although few could have expected his later foray into the world of dramatic acting . Whether it's as Rick Reynolds in Black or White or Pete Murphy in The Front Runner , Burr's excellent acting range has broken his well-established funny-man mold and made him one of the most unexpected breakout dramatic performers of the last 10 years . However, this performance as John F. Kennedy will more than likely showcase his long-acclaimed comedic chops in all their glory.

Peter Dinklage

Harry friendly.

Despite not much being known about the character of Harry Friendly, Peter Dinklage 's mere presence in Unfrosted will add the sort of acting firepower that can turn the movie from a simple comedy into a story with nuance and depth. Dinklage's remarkable filmography includes the likes of The Station Agent , the X-Men franchise, and, of course, his iconic role as Tyrion Lannister in Game of Thrones , widely hailed as one of the best in the show's impressive catalog of performances.

Everybody Else in 'Unfrosted'

• Max Greenfield ( Veronica Mars ) as Rick Ludwin
• Dan Levy ( Schitt's Creek ) as Andy Warhol
• James Marsden ( X-Men ) as Jack LaLanne
• Jack McBrayer ( The Middle ) as Steve Schwinn
• Thomas Lennon ( Reno 911! ) as Harold von Braunhut
• Adrian Martinez ( Focus ) as Tom Carvel
• Sarah Cooper ( Summering ) as Poppy Northcutt
• Mikey Day ( Saturday Night Live ) as Crackle
• Kyle Mooney ( Brigsby Bear ) as Snap
• Drew Tarver ( The Other Two ) as Pop
• Tony Hale ( Arrested Development ) as Eddie Mink
• Bobby Moynihan ( The Secret Life of Pets ) as Chef Boyardee
• Felix Solis ( Reunion ) as the boss of Big Sugar
• Maria Bakalova ( Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3 ) as Rada Adzhubey
• Dean Norris ( Breaking Bad ) as Nikita Krushchev
• Kyle Dunnigan ( Inside Amy Schumer ) as Walter Cronkite and Johnny Carson
• Sebastian Maniscalco ( Green Book ) as Chester Slink
• Beck Bennett ( Saturday Night Live ) as Barney Stein
• Cedric the Entertainer ( Barbershop ) as Stu Smiley
• Fred Armisen ( Portlandia ) as Mike Puntz
• Jon Hamm ( Mad Men ) in an unnamed role
• John Slattery ( Veep ) in an unnamed role
• Aparna Nancherla ( BoJack Horseman ) as Purvis Pendleton
• Andy Daly ( Review ) as Isaiah Lamb
• Sarah Burns ( Enlightened ) as Mrs Schwinn
• Ronny Chieng ( The Daily Show ) as Chuck
• Rachael Harris ( Lucifer ) as Anna Cabana
• Cedric Yarbrough ( Speechless ) as Toucan Sam
• Patrick Warburton ( Seinfeld ) as Tom Terranova
• Ken Narasaki ( Yellow ) as Ralston Purina

With the trailer available to watch above, Unfrosted will be officially released on May 3, 2024 , with streaming available via Netflix .

Watch on Netflix

‘Prom Dates’ Proves the Teen-Girl Raunchy Sex Comedy Is Here to Stay, Thank God

SOME GOOD NEWS

Antonia Gentry and Julia Lester star in the spirited new movie, “Prom Dates,” which is the spiritual successor to “Bottoms” we need this spring.

Emma Stefansky

Disney / Brett Roedel

High-school sex comedies were once the exclusive realm of the boys. In their heyday, the genre was dominated by the Superbad s, the Napoleon Dynamite s, the American Pie s—raunchy, goofy movies about the absurdity of being a teenager, having all this energy and nowhere to put it. Then something shifted, and we started delving deeper into the other end of the spectrum, tuning in to find out what a girl actually wants and immortalizing it in absurdist, hilarious movies like Booksmart , Blockers , and Bottoms . Hulu’s new comedy Prom Dates is a sibling of these, a hysterically funny odyssey through the highs and lows of a teen best friendship that pokes and prods at a familiar formula.

Graduating seniors Jess ( Ginny & Georgia ’s Antonia Gentry) and Hannah ( High School Musical: The Musical: The Series ’ Julia Lester) made a blood pact (complete with fainting) at 13 to have the best prom ever at the end of high school. Now that the two of them are older, wiser, with devoted boyfriends, everything seems to be going according to plan. Except, the day before their senior prom, Jess and Hannah dump their partners—Jess because he cheated on her, and Hannah because she’s gay—and find themselves suddenly single, with only one desperate night to find dates to the big dance.

It’s a problem, but not a huge disaster for the two pals, whose best-friend energy (frenergy?) is palpable from minute one. Gentry and Lester are whip-smart and knife-sharp in their expert delivery of every line, with the kind of runaway back-and-forth patter you usually only see between two people who have known each other their whole lives. They ping-pong off each other in every scene, with none of the dead space in other comedy films that feel the need to let their jokes breathe. The pair and their equally brilliant supporting cast delight in writer D.J. Mausner’s dialogue, casually shooting off the funniest thing you’ve ever heard before immediately launching into the next funniest. They barely even need the anchoring presence of comedy veterans John Michael Higgins, who plays the school’s principal, and Chelsea Handler, who plays Hannah’s boyfriend’s overbearing mother obsessed with teaching her dog how to use talk buttons.

Julia Lester, Kenny Ridwan

The movie and its director, Kim O. Nguyen ( Never Have I Ever ), take pains to follow each girl equally, though Hannah’s fast-paced gay awakening and coming out understandably take over much of the plot. Her storyline, wherein she’s finally free to flirt with girls (and to figure out how exactly one flirts with girls), feels richer at times than Jess’s more John Hughes-influenced gotta-find-a-boyfriend plot, but the chemistry between the two leads is enough to dispel the notion that the film is favoring one character over the other.

There’s conflict between the friends, but it feels natural instead of being forced into the movie to add momentum. This being a comedy of a certain type, you basically know how things will turn out. It sticks to a certain formula, kind of like an edgier Disney Channel Original Movie whose moral lesson is to be yourself, as aggressively as possible. That predictability is helped by the fact that the leads are somewhat unpredictable: You’ve seen this story before, but not this version . The absurdity is almost cartoonish, with the same understanding of physicality that makes animation funny.

Julia Lester

The movie sprinkles in repeated in-jokes—dog talking buttons with ominous words, a character who’s so tall her head never fits in the frame—that help ground the movie when its plotting almost gets out of hand. The notion that one MUST have a DATE to prom is a classic structure, and Prom Dates feels like an homage to a beloved genre that feels right at home in the present.

Got a tip? Send it to The Daily Beast  here .

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Screen Rant

10 movies like miller’s girl to watch after jenna ortega's thriller.

Miller's Girl caused a stir when it was released due to the wide age gap between the two stars, but there are many other movies with similar themes.

• Thrillers like Miller's Girl captivate audiences with forbidden romance and moral ambiguity, sparking conversations and creating suspense.
• American Beauty weaves together lies and desires in a man's life, celebrating complex storytelling which led to its Oscar success.
• Saltburn and The Crush explore deceit and revenge themes in unexpected ways, showcasing subversive storytelling and talented casts.

Miller's Girl caused a lot of controversy due to the age gap between the stars, Martin Freeman and Jenna Ortega, but it's not the first thriller to make people squirm. Thrillers are popular for a variety of reasons, from captivating the audience and putting them on edge, to causing a stir and sparking conversations. As a result, many movies in this genre get a lot of attention for better and for worse.

However, Miller's Girl is, at its core, a story about forbidden romance , attraction, and blurred lines of morality. Freeman plays a teacher, who forms an unusually close bond with one of his student, played by Ortega. These feelings are reciprocated, and while the pair may hesitate to act on their feelings, ultimately, it has significant consequences on their lives. The film also depicts a narrative of spite and revenge, which sees characters turn on each other in unexpected ways.

10 American Beauty

American Beauty is an Oscar winning film from 1999 starring Kevin Spacey as a man who becomes disillusioned with his life. As he chooses to make drastic changes and alter the course of his life, he finds himself infatuated with a young girl who is a friend of his teenage daughters. The movie weaves together several threads with people in the small neighborhood, as lies, betrayals, and desires are brought to light.

The film's similarities with Miller's Girl are evident, but unlike the latter, American Beauty was widely praised and celebrated. The actors, and the visuals, along with the writing and direction were heaped with praise, resulting in five separate Oscar wins. American Beauty takes the ideas and concepts which Miller's Girl tried to express and places them in a clear context of a man's fracturing life, and the community that he resides in.

Miller's Girl Cast & Character Guide - Who Else Stars In The Jenna Ortega Drama

Saltburn takes the concepts of deceit and revenge and places them within a contemporary British setting. When Oliver Quick, played by Barry Keoghan, attends one of the most prestigious and elite universities in the UK, he struggles to fit in with his more well off peers. However, he eventually forms a connection with a popular and wealthy young man named Felix Catton (Jacob Elordi).

The film establishes the characters and settings in a way that draws out certain feelings of sympathy from the audience, but over time, the story takes unexpected turns. The subversive storytelling, and the characters gradually revealing new and opposite sides to themselves, is truly spectacular. The film has a similar feeling to Miller's Girl as they both go into their final act , and it's an incredible thriller.

8 The Crush

The Crush came out in 1993, starring a young Alicia Silverstone opposite The Princess Bride star, Cary Elwes. When a handsome writer (Elwes) moves into a beautiful guest house to help maintain the Forrester's property, he finds himself entangled in an intense infatuation with their 14-year-old daughter (Silverstone). While initially, he is flattered and receptive to her flirtations, he quickly shuts down her advances, clarifying that there will be no relationship.

He then begins dating a woman from his work, but his young admirer struggles to accept that they are not going to be together. The film is a psychological thriller with much in common with Miller's Girl . Exploring forbidden romance, and the fallout from such a dangerous connection. It is also the film debut of Silverstone which helped launch her career, and features a wonderful, talented cast.

The 20 Best Jenna Ortega Movies And TV Shows

6 cruel intentions.

Cruel Intentions has some distinct differences from Miller's Girl , and several interesting similarities. The film revolves around a pair of entitled and wealthy young people who enjoy toying with people's lives. They are step-siblings, whose parents recently married, and the young man, Sebastian, has an intense attraction towards his step-sister, Kathryn (Sarah Michelle Gellar ). When a new girl moves into town, and her virtuous nature is well known in the community, Katryn makes a bet with her brother.

If Sebastian manages to sleep with the new girl (Reese Witherspoon), Kathryn will have sex with him. However, if he fails to do so, she wins his luxury car. The movie follows a line of deciet and treachery, with complex emotions entangled in the story. However, unlike Miller's Girl , the characters at the heart of the story set out with cruel intentions from the beginning.

5 Lady Bird

Lady Bird is a comedy drama from 2017, starring Saoirse Ronan, and written and directed by Greta Gerwig in her directorial debut. The story is largely focused on the central character, played by Ronan, maturing and going through the regular stresses and dramas of growing up. However, the tone, and the visual style of the film resemble the one present in Miller's Girl . While the movie doesn't dive into forbidden love, there is heartbreak, growth, acceptance, and highly intelligent characters.

Both Miller's Girl and Lady Bird feature beautiful and engaging visuals, and characters with aspirations that go far beyond their small town. Both stories are also witty and engaging in their style of comedy and the way the characters are designed, with well-defined personalities and frequent shifts in the ways that each character is presented. All of this combines to make a thoroughly compelling story, with engaging characters and a twist around every corner.

Martin Freeman's 10 Best Movies, According To Rotten Tomatoes

Again, pushing more into the realm of comedy drama, Easy A was the breakout role for actress Emma Stone early in her career when it was released in 2010. The film is a contemporary adaptation of the 1850 novel, The Scarlet Letter . Stone is a teenage girl who suddenly develops a reputation for promiscuity. Despite the rumors about her promiscuity being false, Olive (Stone), leans into the stories and chooses to cash in on her reputation.

The movie features a compelling and highly intelligent protagonist, and a story that builds up tension and drama around lies and deceptions. Like Miller's Girl , romance is a prominent central theme in the plot of the story, with other themes about promiscuity and indecent actions. However, the story keeps everything age appropriate, which immediately alters a significant part of what is at the core of the story overall.

3 The Perks Of Being A Wallflower

The Perks of Being a Wallflower is a 2012 movie based on a novel of the same name from 1999. The story follows a young man who has had clinical depression from a young age. This protagonist, played by Logan Lerman, is undergoing a huge change in his life when he begins high school, and it could potentially be a moment that causes him to retreat from society entirely, or to be brave and embrace a new chapter in his life with his head held high. Fortunately, he befriends two seniors whose passion for life help him come out of his shell.

Emma Watson and Ezra Miller, before many controversies arose , play the seniors who show the protagonist how to grab life with enthusiasm and overcome the darker thoughts and past that plague him. The film takes an honest look at a very difficult and exhausting aspect of growing up, and some of the worst challenges that can come with it. While the central concept may be different, the movie has a similar aesthetic in terms of young intelligent people pursuing greater knowledge and dreams, with a particular love of literature.

10 Best Coming Of Age Comedy Dramas Like Juno

2 the edge of seventeen.

The Edge of Seventeen stars Hailee Steinfeld in a film about loss and growing up. The comedy drama follows a young woman who recently lost her father and finds her entire life thrown into disarray. Throughout the film, Nadine (Steinfeld) is faced with challenges that she struggles to overcome in the process of growing up. While the film has similar themes, and the inclusion of dark humor and more mellow scenes, there are also stark differences.

Both films share a commonality with a young woman who is forced into maturing at an accelerated rate due to the absence of parental supervision in their lives. Both Nadine and Cairo (Ortega) find solace and comfort by engaging with a teacher who gives them special attention, and makes them feel seen. However, Nadine's teacher never creates a romantic or ambiguous relationship, which helps to preserve their relationship and keep it strictly platonic.

1 The Idea Of You

The Idea of You came out after Miller's Girl as a Prime Original film starring Anne Hathaway as a single mother who forms a romantic relationship with a much younger man. The relationship is made more complicated by the fact that the young man is a lead singer for an incredibly popular boy band, which makes their relationship breaking news. Despite the difference in age and life experience, the pair form a passionate romantic relationship together.

The tone of The Idea of You is much lighter and brighter than Miller's Girl , but there is still a core relationship which is formed that feels inherently taboo. Despite the lack of other moral factors, such as Hathaway's character being single, unlike Freeman's Mr. Miller, there is a lot of attention directed at the couple due to their public relationship. It provides an interesting contrast to Miller's Girl , and several similarities which are worth exploring within the context of both films.