Girls Like Girls: These Sequences Perfectly Capture The Stomach-Flipping Butterflies Of A First Love

Girls Like Girls Synopsis:

Set against the sun-soaked backdrop of one summer, Coley navigates the grief of losing her mother while adjusting to a new life with her estranged father in rural Oregon. Her guarded world is upended when she meets the magnetic Sonya, sparking an intense and immediate connection that challenges both girls to confront their identities. As they navigate the complexities of first love, Coley must overcome her fear of abandonment as Sonya grapples with the social pressures of their small town while learning their secret isn't meant to be kept but a truth to be celebrated.

Genre: Romance, Drama

Release Date: In theaters June 19th, 2026

Girls Like Girls Fun Facts: The New Film Promises To Provide The Feature-Length Emotional Journey That Fans Have Been Waiting For

A Decade in the Making:
The movie is arriving at the perfect moment, marking exactly ten years since the original Girls Like Girls music video first debuted in June 2015. What began a decade ago as a five-minute viral hit, which has since exploded in popularity to reach over 160 million views, has now been reimagined and expanded into a complete, full-length feature film. The transition from a short music video to a full-length film allows the creators to dive much deeper into the characters and themes that fans first fell in love with years ago. While the music video gave us a glimpse into the story, the new film promises to provide the feature-length emotional journey that the online fans have been waiting for.

From Song to Page to Screen:
It’s not often you see a story jump from the music video to the bookshelf and then finally to the big screen, but Girls Like Girls has pulled off a very rare success in the entertainment world. In June 2015, it first captured the public's attention as a breakout single and viral music video. In 2023, the story was expanded into a novel that quickly climbed the charts to become a New York Times bestseller. Now, the journey comes full circle as it transforms into a major motion picture. At the heart of this evolution is Hayley Kiyoko; she has personally guided the story through every single stage of its life. She serves as the creative force behind the song, the author of the book, and a key figure in the film’s development, ensuring that the heart of the story remained consistent as it moved through different forms of media.

A Full-Circle Creative Team:
Even though this film marks Hayley Kiyoko’s first time directing a full-length movie, she had a very special partner by her side to help bring the vision to life. The script was co-written by Stefanie Scott, who played Coley in the original 2015 music video that started it all. This collaboration adds a unique layer of meaningful memory to the project, which stays true to the emotions and vibe that made people fall in love with the story ten years ago. Since Hayley and Stefanie have been part of this world from the very beginning, their partnership ensures that the movie feels like a natural and authentic expansion of the Girls Like Girls universe. By combining Hayley’s direction with Stefanie’s intimate knowledge of the characters, the duo has created a passion project built on a decade of shared history.

Coley’s Backstory:
The original music video captured only an electric moment in time; the film Girls Like Girls dives much deeper into Coley’s backstory, giving her a level of emotional complexity that a five-minute video simply couldn't fit. One of the most touching and significant additions to the story is the exploration of Coley’s relationship with her late mother. This storyline adds a beautiful, yet heartbreaking, layer to who Coley is today. We get to see how the loss of her mother influenced her outlook on life and how she navigates love and connection in the present day. Her bond with her mother serves as an emotional anchor for the entire movie; we get to see how those experiences shaped Coley’s personality, her fears, and her guarded heart. The film transforms from a simple romance into a rich, character-driven drama about family, memory, and finding the courage to be yourself.

Produced by a Musical Mastermind:
The film is backed by some serious Hollywood heavyweight producer, Marc Platt. He is the creative force behind some of the biggest and most beloved musical movies of the last decade. Some of his previous projects with massive hits include La La Land, Wicked, and Mary Poppins Returns. Having Marc Platt on board suggests that the musical integration will be world-class. Platt’s extensive experience in blending song and story cohesively ensures the audiences can expect the film to have the polished sound, seamless transitions, and emotional impact usually reserved for major studio blockbusters. This suggests the film Girls Like Girls is being treated as a major blockbuster event.

Source: youtube, wikipedia

Girls Like Girls Review: These Sequences Perfectly Capture The Stomach-Flipping Butterflies Of A First Love

Hayley Kiyoko’s Girls Like Girls is a brilliant example of how a great story can grow and change across different types of media. What began as a simple, catchy pop song has transformed over the past decade into a massive, multi-layered storytelling project. It all started with a hit song and an iconic music video in 2015 that quickly became an anthem for LGBTQ+ youth. The video didn't just promote the music; it told a cinematic story about two best friends falling in love, racking up millions of views and striking a deep chord with fans worldwide. Recognizing how much the characters meant to people, Kiyoko expanded the universe into a Young Adult (YA) novel in 2023. This gave fans a chance to dive much deeper into the characters' inner lives, backstories, and the nuances of their relationship. Now, the project has reached its ultimate peak with a full-length movie, which also marks Kiyoko’s debut as a feature film director.

Girls Like Girls centers on Coley (Maya da Costa), a quiet 17-year-old girl whose world has just been shattered. Following the tragic death of her mother, Coley is forced to leave everything she knows behind. She packs up and moves to rural Oregon to live with her estranged father, Curtis (Zach Braff). While Curtis is well-meaning and tries his best to reconnect, the gap between them is wide. Coley arrives in this new small town feeling deeply isolated, angry, and trapped in her own grief. Just when Coley feels completely alone, her world shifts completely when she crosses paths with Sonya (Myra Molloy), who is everything Coley is not. Sonya is charismatic, a talented dancer, and the popular centerpiece of the local cool-kid social circle.

In a classic throwback move, Sonya boldly scribbles her AOL Instant Messenger (AIM) screen name directly onto Coley’s arm. This small, playful act kicks off a summer where the two girls are practically inseparable. As they spend more time together, their physical closeness begins to shift. What started as casual hanging out turns into undeniable romantic chemistry and unmistakable tension. However, their blooming romance quickly hits a major roadblock. For Coley, this summer is a beautiful and profound romantic awakening. For the first time, she is discovering who she truly is and what it feels like to fall in love. Sonya is fiercely closeted and terrified of anyone finding out the truth. Making matters worse, she is stuck in a toxic, unpredictable relationship with her boyfriend, Trenton (Levon Hawke). This contrast sets up the emotional heart of the film. The deep fear of coming out in a small town versus the freedom to be seen and loved for who you truly are.

The absolute heartbeat of Girls Like Girls is newcomer Maya da Costa. Playing a character carrying as much heavy emotional baggage as Coley is no easy task, but Da Costa delivers a performance that is raw, quiet, and deeply empathetic. She doesn't need a lot of dialogue to show the audience what she is going through; instead, she wears Coley's heartbreak, grief, and longing entirely on her face. At times, the movie's script can lean a bit too heavily into predictable young adult clichés and cheesy lines. However, Da Costa’s grounded, incredibly real performance lifts the material up, making every single moment feel genuine and important.

The chemistry between Da Costa and Myra Molloy feels genuine; you can practically feel it through the screen. Their chemistry is best showcased in the film's quieter, more artistic moments. Rather than relying on big, dramatic speeches, the film allows their bond to grow through subtle lingering glances across each other, soft, shared silences, and the hesitant, electric tension of a near-touch. These sequences perfectly capture the stomach-flipping butterflies of a first love, making the romance feel entirely authentic to anyone who watches it.

Director Hayley Kiyoko has done something truly impressive in Girls Like Girls: she took the visual style of her original four-minute music video and successfully stretched it out into a gorgeous, full-length movie. Kiyoko uses a distinct look that makes the entire movie feel like a memory. The scenes are drenched in a warm, burnt-orange glow. This specific lighting choice gives the film a retro feel almost like looking at an old Polaroid photo or a vintage film roll from a golden summer afternoon.

What makes Girls Like Girls truly special is how it focuses on the tiny, everyday moments of growing up. Kiyoko perfectly captures the tiny-detailed reality of what it actually feels like to have a secret crush when you are young. The film highlights those small, heart-stopping experiences that anyone who has ever fallen in love will instantly recognize. That hyper-awareness during a sleepover when your leg accidentally brushes against theirs, and neither of you moves away. The frantic, stomach-flipping anxiety of staring at a computer screen, just waiting for the signature chime of an AOL Instant Messenger notification to pop up. By focusing on these relatable, quiet details, the film captures the true essence of young, queer love, making it feel deeply personal, incredibly real, and beautifully emotional for the audience.

At times, you can tell that Girls Like Girls grew out of a four-minute music video. The movie is trying to stretch a short concept into a full-length feature film, so the storytelling can feel a bit disconnected. Instead of moving forward with a tightly woven, traditional plot where each event naturally causes the next, the movie occasionally feels like a collection of short, isolated scenes or snapshots. Every single one of these snapshots is beautifully shot, emotionally raw, and stunning to look at. The downside is the movie lingers so much on these individual moods and pretty moments that the overall pacing slows down. The deeper plot can sometimes feel secondary to the film's visual style. While the film is a triumph for its atmosphere and representation, it occasionally struggles to balance its music-video roots with the structural demands of a traditional Hollywood movie.

When you look at the big picture, Girls Like Girls is a film that chooses emotional honesty over complex storytelling. Depending on what you are looking for in a movie, this approach has both its strengths and its limitations. Girls Like Girls is a tender, deeply personal piece of queer cinema that tells the story through an authentic, respectful, and deeply female lens. It prioritizes the sweet, messy, and real emotions that come with discovering who you are as a teenager. Even though it sticks to a safe formula, it executes that formula with such an undeniable warmth that you can't help but be moved by it.

The film focuses so heavily on the golden-hued look at the past that it leaves some deeper elements behind. Viewers looking for a movie with a sharp, tight, or surprising plot might find the storytelling a bit too loose and relaxed. By wrapping itself so tightly in the comfort of the past, the film can occasionally feel overly simplified. Ultimately, Girls Like Girls isn't trying to be a complex political statement or a groundbreaking cinematic plot. It is designed to be a comforting, beautiful, and emotionally validating hug for anyone who has ever survived the butterflies and heartaches of a first love.