‘Girls Like Girls’ Review: Hayley Kiyoko’s Sapphic Summer Romance Brings the Butterflies
Ask any gay girlie what their 2010s canon event was, and they’ll point to Portrait of a Lady on Fire… and “Girls Like Girls.” The 2015 pop song and music video by Hayley Kiyoko, a multi-hyphenate who had Gen-Z sapphics in a chokehold since Lemonade Mouth (or, technically, becoming the gay Velma), bears the same name as her debut film. I still remember my sister being obsessed with the music video and dropping her off at the now-defunct Samsung 837 to watch Kiyoko perform the song as part of her “One Bad Night” music video launch the following year – the same year she came out.
Where was I? At a Doctor Strange IMAX preview (man, I couldn’t come out as non-binary quickly enough).
Kiyoko's path to getting Coley and Sonya’s timely love story to the big screen was paved with so many road bumps. She wrote a novel version while waiting for the greenlight, then got so pissed about not getting it that she wrote the song “Greenlight” to vent her frustrations and manifest. Now, as her long-awaited debut arrives when her target demographic is all adults, it captures the nostalgic softness the source generated. Despite starting rough and not breaking any new ground, the feature adaptation of Girls Like Girls marks an effective feature jump for Kiyoko, who finds a bridge in capturing timely romance for teen queer youth and the sapphics who have been hooked since the lyric “stealing kisses from your missus.”
Image copyright (©) Courtesy of Focus Features
MPA Rating: R (for teen alcohol and drug use, and some language.)
Runtime: 1 Hour and 35 Minutes
Language: English
Production Companies: Marc Platt Productions, BuzzFeed Studios
Distributor: Focus Features
Director: Hayley Kiyoko
Screenwriters: Hayley Kiyoko, Stefanie Scott
Cast: Maya da Costa, Myra Molloy, Zach Braff, Levon Hawke, Hunter Dillon, Alozie LaRose, Sierra Sidwell, Maya Ford, Remy Marthaller
U.S Release Date: June 19, 2026
In the summer of 2006, reserved 17-year-old Coley (Maya da Costa) moves to rural Oregon with her estranged father, Curtis (Zach Braff), following her mother’s death. Living in his attic, she spends her summer days avoiding her dad, biking alone down backroads, and swimming at the lake. She crosses paths with Sonya (Myra Molloy), a popular athlete and fireball, whom she's drawn to at first glance. But Coley struggles to fit into Sonya's lively, preppy clique – especially her hostile on-again/off-again boyfriend Trenton (Levon Hawke). Sonya, ever the go-getter, writes her AIM user ID on Coley's arm, sparking something real. They soon click, and their emotionally charged friendship blossoms into romance across a summer of twists and turns. As Sonya gets cold feet, grappling with her internalized homophobia, Coley must learn to find assurance in her own identity and accept the feelings of her first love.
Girls Like Girls preserves the music video’s DNA while expanding its heart.
Myra Molloy stars as Sonya and Maya Da Costa as Coley in director Hayley Kiyoko’s GIRLS LIKE GIRLS, a Focus Features release. Credit: Dan Power / © 2026 FOCUS FEATURES LLC
Kiyoko's Girls Like Girls faithfully recaptures the music video's visual style, from composition to color palette, now expanded to cinematic scale. Cinematographer Sonja Tsypin adopts DP Chris Saul's sun-drenched, rural-focused approach, using natural lighting to capture the youthful, summery energy. Most locations are exteriors or intimate interiors – Coley's home and Sonya's femme-coded, trophy-filled room – subtly evoking the fun worldliness of the 2000s. Beyond period details like AIM messaging and an Imogen Heap needle drop, the film channels an organic nostalgia – a theatrical rarity in today's streaming landscape.
Beyond capturing the film's grounded spirit, Kiyoko's confident lens brings the lesbian gaze and yearning to life. I mean, “fork found in kitchen.” Yet the earnestness and realism in her direction conjure such heartwarming cuteness that older sapphics will go “ah, that takes me back,” while younger viewers feel truly seen. Kiyoko conveys Coley’s teenage emotions intensely, evoking that “butterflies in my tummy” feeling every time she looks at Sonya longingly. It’s her freewheeling spirit, her beauty, and the intimacy of her gestures. Those warm, close-up shots of da Costa often leave her just a few seconds away from having her pupils turn into hearts. And that intensity carries through to the pits of heartbreak Sonya causes, too.
Girls Like Girls finds its footing once the love story begins.
Myra Molloy stars as Sonya and Maya Da Costa as Coley in director Hayley Kiyoko’s GIRLS LIKE GIRLS, a Focus Features release. Credit: Dan Power / © 2026 FOCUS FEATURES LLC
Kiyoko co-wrote the screenplay with the original Coley, Stefanie Scott (her co-star from Insidious: Chapter 3 and Jem and the Holograms), and developed the story with Chloe Okuno (Watcher). The script stumbles out of the gate. Much of the lead’s romance relies on breezy montages, and it often struggles with clunky, TeenNick-like dialogue – derivative and stilted, even.
Coley is guarded through much of the first act, fitting for her grief and new surroundings. However, her silence makes her seem bland, defined more by her flannel wardrobe than her personality. This walled-off nature restrains Maya’s performance. She has a strong presence but only begins to shine when Coley opens up to Sonya and discusses her grief.
The story gathers momentum and sharpens its focus when Coley and Sonya’s romance begins. Dialogue and characterizations improve, and you’re hooked into the romantic teen portrait. However, at 97 minutes, the pacing feels like it's skipping stones across a lake rather than diving in. It crams too many dramatic moments too quickly, with no breathing room. Some scenes end abruptly and skip forward in time. After their first kiss, Sonya’s sudden distance is immediate. Like a split second, even, leaving both Coley and the viewers disoriented.
Maya da Costa and Myra Molloy carry the weight of first love.
Myra Molloy stars as Sonya and Maya Da Costa as Coley in director Hayley Kiyoko’s GIRLS LIKE GIRLS, a Focus Features release. Credit: Dan Power / © 2026 FOCUS FEATURES LLC
Maya da Costa and Myra Molloy make this emotional rollercoaster blossom. The two exude the softness and warmth that bring this iconic lesbian tale to life. Even when the early material gives them little to work with, their affectionate chemistry compensates. Costa textures the rawness of Coley’s grief and the heaviness of her self-image, making her journey from timid to assured feel triumphant.
I was also astonished by Myra Molloy, who carries a heavy load as Sonya. The rural environment plays a huge part in her identity – the small-town pressure and her popularity make her deeply anxious about how she’s perceived, leading her to self-destruct. It’s such a fascinating character. Molloy portrays Sonya's competitive personality while also conveying the war over her identity through expressive facial cues that illustrate her internalized pain. Teenage girls are messy, and Sonya makes some abhorrent, infuriating choices that, even from a writing perspective, feel underwritten.
Zach Braff is surprisingly the film’s best performance. As Curtis, Braff is initially just there looking like a lost puppy, highlighting Curtis’ complicated, newfound dad role. He reminded me of Eighth Grade’s Josh Hamilton. Braff delivers such a resounding display of patience and charm that it actually made me well up in tears.
The post-credits scene industrial complex claims another victim.
Myra Molloy stars as Sonya and Maya Da Costa as Coley in director Hayley Kiyoko’s GIRLS LIKE GIRLS, a Focus Features release. Credit: Dan Power / © 2026 FOCUS FEATURES LLC
The script updates climactic key moments for modern times; one major change involving Trenton has me mixed. On one hand, I like that it refocuses on the girls and their relationship without needing homophobic violence. On the other hand, Hawke’s character is just as douchy and erratic as the source material, making it feel like a massive buildup. The film partly saves itself with a better conclusion that compensates for the emotional catharsis lost elsewhere.
BUT IT’S A POST-CREDITS SCENE. YES. THIS MOVIE HAS A POST-CREDITS SCENE. Someone aware will have to tell you because no one will actually know. I hope theaters post a warning. BUT WHY?! It’s cute, but it could’ve been a mid-credits scene at most. AHHHH! One of the best decisions for the movie was ruined by the worst placement. Even in my sapphic indie teen romance, Kevin Feige’s influence strikes again.
FINAL STATEMENT
Feeling every ounce of the longing in each frame, Hayley Kiyoko’s feature debut Girls Like Girls is an adorable and affecting update that ultimately captures the tender yearning, nostalgic warmth, and sapphic sincerity that made the music video a generation-defining queer touchstone. It won’t reinvent the queer cinema wheel, but it’ll absolutely remind older sapphics why they fell in love with it while giving a whole new generation the same obsession under a new light.
