GIRLS LIKE GIRLS

(director/writer: Hayley Kiyoko; screenwriters: Stefanie Scott, story by Kiyoko; cinematographer: Sonja Tsypin; editors: Christine Armstrong, Sabine Hoffman; music: Jessica Rose Weiss; cast: Maya da Costa (Nicole ‘Coley’), Myra Molloy (Sonya), Levon Hawke (Trenton), Zach Braff (Curtis, father), Alexa Mareka (Blake, sales clerk), Sierra Sidwell (SJ), Sophia Carriere (Brooke, friend of Sonya), Remy Marthaller (Emma), Maya Ford (Tracy, Sonya’s mom), Alozie LaRose (Alex), Hunter Dillon (Goose), Wayne Corbeil (Restaurant Patron), Olly Axon (Tye, high school student); Runtime: 95; MPAA Rating: R; producers: Marc Platt, Katie McNicol, Adam Siegel, Dee Best, Michael Phillip, Jason Moring, Richard Alan Reid; Focus Features; 2026)

“Corny but charming lesbian drama.”

Reviewed by Dennis Schwartz
 
Hayley Kiyoko in her feature film debut directs this corny but charming lesbian drama of two inexperienced girls getting involved in a summer romance. Kiyoko co-writes it with Stefanie Scott, based on a 2023 story she wrote and on the pop singer’s 2015 song. It’s set in 2006. 

Coley (Maya da Costa) is an introverted 17-year-old who moves with her single absentee musician father Curtis (Zach Braff), from San Diego to a small town in Oregon, after her mom committed suicide a year earlier. The absentee father returns to take care of her, but neither one knows the other very well.

Coley falls in love with the high school senior, the closeted Sonya (Myra Molloy), even though the flaky girl, with an eating disorder, from a close-knit controlling upper-middle-class family, has a hostile homophobic boyfriend Trenton (Levon Hawke), who gets off when he maliciously taunts Coley.

It’s a breezy superficial coming-of-age story with stilted dialogue that fails to tell of the difficulties queers have when coming out, but instead focuses on some romantic moments
between the inexperienced lovers that makes them think they’re on the right path when they embrace.

I found it cute that the girls came-up with the phrase “Olive Juice” when secretly conveying their love to their partner in the presence of others.

Maya da Costa’s touching performance gives some needed depth to the relatable sapphic film, that makes the most out of its rich soundtrack, its enticing visuals, and Kiyoko’s personal connection to the story.

REVIEWED ON 6/18/2026  GRADE: B-
dennisschwartzreviews.com