Watch with her: coming-of-age movies for girls

Coming-of-age movies for girls do so much more than provide great sleepover entertainment. By putting the focus on girls’ lives and the issues that matter to them, these movies can help girls develop a healthy sense of self, while also influencing societal attitudes for the better.

Whether it’s movie night with your daughter, niece, or friend, or you’re feeling like a trip down memory lane, watch these girl-positive movies (without any ‘girl power’ cliches) and celebrate stories with relatable role models that put their unique perspective front and centre.

Looking for Alibrandi (2000)

Rated M, Netflix

No other book spoke to Australian millennials the way the 1992 instant bestseller Looking for Alibrandi did. Maybe that’s just because so many of us had to study it at school? Regardless, author Melina Marchetta captured the voice of an Italian Australian teenager with humour and authenticity and adapted it just as effectively for screen eight years later with director Kate Woods.

It opens with 17-year-old Josie Alibrandi (Pia Miranda) introducing her Italian family on ‘tomato day’ (when families comes together to make tomato passata or puree for bottling), and then promptly ditching the tradition to go to Bondi Beach with school friends. Being caught between cultures is just one of the many themes that arise as her HSC year unfolds.

She meets her father (Anthony LaPaglia) for the first time, grieves the death of a friend, stands up to racism at her posh inner-Sydney private school, and gets to know not-so-bad-boy Jacob Coote (Kick Curry). She’s protective of her single mum Christina (Greta Scacchi), but fights against Nonna Katia (Elena Cotta) – who’s difficult migrant experience brings the three Alibrandi women closer and adds a multi-generational perspective to the film.

It's a lot for one year, with exams on top of it. But Josie is resilient, as most teenagers are.

Booksmart (2019)

Rated MA15+ Prime Video (Rent or Buy)

We’ve seen teens cutting loose countless times before, albeit with male leads, and it can often be a recipe for cheap laughs. But first-time director Olivia Wilde used the familiar format to her advantage, proving there’s room for originality in the world of teen party flicks when told from a female point of view. It’s a high energy ride with an overarching message about the value of having fun, but when it comes to the more serious stuff – sex-and-body positivity, queer representation, friendship, and rejecting female stereotypes – it offers plenty of substance.

So, strap in as academic achievers and besties Molly (Beanie Feldstein) and Amy (Kaitlyn Dever) embark on a pre-graduation bender to make up for the years they’ve spent studying instead of partying. Fomo-stricken Molly is concerned that her high school experience will fall short of her peers if she doesn’t break some rules before she graduates, while Amy hopes she can finally make a move on the girl she likes.

Throughout the night’s shenanigans Molly and Amy’s friendship is always the focus. Their co-dependence is sure to resonate with anyone who also had an inseparable BFF who supported them unconditionally in high school.

You might also like Netflix’s LGBTQI+ collection.

Lady Bird (2017)

Rated M, Prime Video

Considered one of the best contemporary coming-of-agers, Lady Bird is a funny, engaging and sympathetic character study that captures the highs and lows of becoming an adult.

It’s 2002 and Christine “Lady Bird” McPherson is in her senior year at a Catholic high school. She’s determined to leave suburban Sacramento when she graduates to go somewhere ‘with culture’ – specifically an expensive east coast liberal arts school – despite the constant reminders from breadwinner mom (Laurie Metcalf) that she and out-of-work dad (Tracy Letts) can’t afford it. It doesn’t help that, as a scholarship student, she’s surrounded by kids from families much wealthier than hers.

The feelings conveyed through her relationships are sure to strike a chord, from the turbulent mother/daughter dynamic to romantic sparks with theatre-kid Danny (Lucas Hedges) and brooding Kyle (Timothée Chalamet) who both deliver formative moments, but not happy endings.

Writer-director Greta Gerwig nails the details and they’re worth paying attention to. Nothing is spelled out because the pithy dialogue, costumes, props, and of course the performances, are so on point. The time period and place she’s recreated may be quite specific, but the teenage emotions are universal.

Looking for movies about mums? Check these out.

To All The Boys I’ve Loved Before (2018)

Rated M, Netflix

To All the Boys I’ve Loved Before – the first of three movies adapted from Jenny Han’s much-loved book series and directed by Susan Johnson – is comfort viewing at its best.

When five of Lara Jean’s (Lana Condor) former crushes find out about her feelings for them, her introspective world is blown wide open. To help diffuse her potentially humiliating situation, she begins a fake relationship with childhood friend Peter (Noah Centineo), who in turn wants to make his ex-girlfriend jealous.

It’s a convoluted set-up for a conventional story about two teens falling for each other, but hey, this is romcom after all. That said, it does bring richness and a healthy attitude to the genre. Lara Jean, who is Korean American, offers representation for a generation of teenagers who the film industry has previously excluded, sub-plotted, or stereotyped. It doesn’t preach, nor is this part of Lara Jean’s identity exploited to create friction or drive the plot. She’s a regular teen girl with individual quirks and similar growing pains to everyone else. And Peter, who could easily be pegged as just another “popular jock”, does his own bit to stamp out stereotypes as the mature well-rounded guy without any “nice guy” hang ups. Refreshing!

On 11 October International Day of the Girl calls attention to the issues girls all around the world face and celebrates their potential to bring about change.

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