rewrite this title Girls Like Girls Review: Hayley Kiyoko’s Directorial Debut Is A Raw, Honest Coming-Of-Age Romance

PLOT: After moving to a small Oregon town to live with her estranged father, young Coley meets the charismatic Sonya, her boyfriend, Trenton, and the rest of their friends. Content to observe from a distance, Coley gets pulled into their world as sparks start to fly between the new girl and the popular girl.

REVIEW: There was a time when I absolutely craved YA stories. I’m talking The Perks of Being a Wallflower, The Edge of Seventeen, The Spectacular Now, and the books of John Green and David Levithan. I loved that raw, messy, emotionally overwhelming space where teenagers are figuring themselves out and every look, text, song, and awkward conversation feels like the biggest thing in the world. Girls Like Girls taps directly into that feeling.

What makes Hayley Kiyoko’s feature directorial debut work so well is that it doesn’t feel like a polished studio version of teenage emotion. It feels alive in that specific way coming-of-age stories used to feel before so many of them started getting washed away to streaming, where they often arrive with very little fanfare and even less staying power. This feels like the type of film Focus Features would have released in 2006, which is fitting since that’s exactly when it takes place. It has that sun-soaked, indie romantic drama quality where the drama comes from small gestures, a slight brushing of a hand, bad decisions, stolen glances, and the crushing weight of things left unsaid.

The 2006 setting is more than just nostalgia bait. Sure, there are AIM conversations, iPods, clothes, and music cues that immediately lock the film into its era, but it never feels like the movie is waving a giant “remember this?” sign in your face. The period detail works because it reflects the emotional world of these characters. This was a time before every feeling was instantly posted, reacted to, or screenshotted for the world. For Coley (Maya da Costa) and Sonya (Myra Molloy), that makes every little moment feel even more intense. A message typed and retyped on AIM can feel like a confession. A song on an iPod can become the soundtrack to someone’s entire emotional life (“Hide and Seek” by Imogen Heap was also on my iPod).

It makes sense coming from Kiyoko, whose whole road to this film started with the 2015 “Girls Like Girls” music video before expanding into her 2023 novel and now this feature adaptation. You can feel that musical background in the way the movie moves. Some scenes have a music-video quality, but not in a shallow way. More like Kiyoko knows when to let a song, a look, or a bit of silence say what the characters aren’t ready to say out loud.

Now, the story itself is fairly predictable, but don’t take that as a negative. In fact, I think the predictability makes sense. First love is predictable from the outside because so many of us have gone through some version of it. The jealousy, mixed signals, overthinking, fear of rejection, and the way one person can suddenly become your whole world. While I can’t directly relate to Coley and Sonya’s specific experience, I can absolutely relate to being a socially awkward, angsty teen trying to make sense of emotions that felt way too big at the time.  And I’m sure many of you have as well/

Maya da Costa is especially believable as Coley. She has this quiet, guarded quality early on that makes you feel how much Coley is carrying, and her gradual blossoming feels honest. Myra Molloy is just as strong as Sonya, bringing charm, confidence, and sadness while trying to be what everyone else wants her to be. Together, they have the kind of chemistry that makes the whole movie work. I really hope both of their careers blossom from here 

The surprise for me was how much I connected with Zach Braff’s character, Curtis. Coley’s father is trying to repair a relationship that has already been damaged, and while he doesn’t always know the right thing to say or do, I found myself relating to him more than I expected except the whole damaged relationship bit. It’s because I’m older now and have a teenager myself, but there’s something very real about watching a parent try to connect with their kid and constantly feel shut out.

If I had any minor issues, it’s that Girls Like Girls doesn’t completely escape the familiar beats of the genre. There are moments where you know exactly where a scene is heading, and a few supporting characters could have used more depth. And I could slightly nitpick current brand logos instead of the 2006 logos or one kid having that alpaca haircut you see everywhere now. But those are small things.  This is less about reinventing the coming-of-age romance and more about giving this specific story the space and care it deserves.

It may sound a little dramatic, but I honestly feel like this is the kind of film that could help save a young person who is trying to find themselves and terrified of what the outcome might be. Not because it has some grand speech about life being okay, but because the movie itself feels like it’s saying, “You’re not alone. Other people have been through some version of this. You’ll be okay.”  Also, stay through the end credits.

Girls Like Girls is raw, honest, emotional, and refreshing in a way I didn’t realize I had missed. Hayley Kiyoko has already proven herself as a musician, actor, and novelist, and now, with her directorial debut, she proves she can do it all. 

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