''Hollywood Stargirl'' is a 2022 American

teen Adolescence () is a transitional stage of physical and psychological development that generally occurs during the period from puberty to adulthood (typically corresponding to the age of majority). Adolescence is usually associated with the te ...

romantic drama Romance films or movies involve romantic love stories recorded in visual media for broadcast in theatres or on television that focus on passion, emotion, and the affectionate romantic involvement of the main characters. Typically their journey ...

film directed by

Julia Hart Julia Hart (born April 7, 1982) is an American filmmaker and actress. She is known for writing and directing the comedy drama ''Miss Stevens'' (2016), the superhero drama ''Fast Color'' (2018), the musical romance '' Stargirl'' (2020), and the ...

from a screenplay that she co-wrote with

Jordan Horowitz Jordan Horowitz (born April 10, 1980) is an American film producer. He is best known for producing the musical romantic-drama film ''La La Land'' that earned numerous awards and nominations including a nomination for the Academy Award for Best Pi ...

. The film is a sequel to the 2020 film '' Stargirl'', which was in turn based on

Jerry Spinelli Jerry Spinelli (born February 1, 1941) is an American writer of children's novels that feature adolescence and early adulthood. His novels include ''Maniac Magee'', '' Stargirl'', and ''Wringer''. Life Spinelli was born in Norristown, Penn ...

's 2000 novel of the same name; it is not an adaptation of the novel's sequel ''

Love, Stargirl ''Love, Stargirl'' is a 2007 young adult novel by Jerry Spinelli. The book is the sequel to the ''New York Times'' bestselling book '' Stargirl'' and centers on "the world's longest letter" in diary form. It picks up where the previous novel le ...

''. The story follows Stargirl and her mother Ana, who is hired as the costume designer on a movie, as they relocate to Los Angeles, where Stargirl meets new friends and explores her creative side, gaining success as a performer.Juneau, Jen
"Grace VanderWaal Returns to the Limelight in ''Hollywood Stargirl''"
''People'', April 26, 2022 The film premiered on May 23, 2022, at the

El Capitan Theatre El Capitan Theatre is a fully restored movie palace at 6838 Hollywood Blvd. in Hollywood. The theater and adjacent Hollywood Masonic Temple (now known as the El Capitan Entertainment Centre) is owned by The Walt Disney Company and serves as th ...

in Los Angeles, California, and was released on

Disney+ The Walt Disney Company, commonly known as Disney (), is an American multinational mass media and entertainment Entertainment is a form of activity that holds the attention and interest of an audience or gives pleasure and deligh ...

on June 3, 2022. It received positive reviews.

Plot

Having moved from Arizona, Stargirl and her mother Ana arrive in Los Angeles to start a new life. Ana has gotten a job as a costume designer for a feature film, but the director is notoriously difficult to work with. While strumming in her room, Stargirl meets Evan, who lives in her new apartment building. He and his brother Terrell are making a sizzle reel for a potential film and would like her to write the music and possibly act in the film. While Stargirl has never acted before, she is convinced by the brothers and visits Terrell's workplace, a bar called Forte. Stargirl recognizes one of the regular visitors, known to the brothers as "Table Six", as Roxanne Martel, a one-hit wonder who left the music scene to become a producer; she is the actual owner of Forte. Ana's busy work schedule leaves Stargirl to her own devices. She buys a pair of headphones for her grumpy neighbor, Mr. Mitchell, who begins to open up and reveals that he was once a film producer. Stargirl also meets with Roxanne to ask if she may use her song "Miracle Mile" for the sizzle reel, but Roxanne refuses, giving the impression that she is anti-social and bitter. Stargirl and Evan decide to write their own song, "Figure It Out", and Roxanne reveals that she denied them the use of her song to encourage them to create their own. She allows them to use a professional studio to record. Stargirl and Evan begin a romance. Stargirl, Evan and Terrell finish the sizzle reel and send it out. As they wait for a response, Stargirl relates her past to Evan. Terrell eventually learns that an executive named Priya Collins has picked up the sizzle reel. She offers them a budget of one million dollars; enough to shoot their film. At home, Ana tells Stargirl that her film's production has shut down due to the director's behavior and that she has accepted a job in Berkeley. Stargirl is angry, as she is growing to love life in Los Angeles and realizes that Ana's issues stem from her fear of settling down. Mr. Mitchell advises her that one should learn from their mistakes and tells her that he was inspired by hearing her conversation with Terrell. Stargirl persuades Ana that they should stay and that she needs to accept the mistakes in life. At Forte, Evan and Terrell are surprised to see Stargirl with Roxanne in a new music group called Table Six and the Shirley Temples. They are happy to learn that she will be staying. Later, Terrell begins filming his new movie, ''Tell Your Story'', with Evan and Stargirl in the leads.

Cast

Grace VanderWaal Grace Avery VanderWaal (born January 15, 2004) is an American singer, songwriter and actress. She is known for her distinctive vocals and has often accompanied herself on the ukulele. VanderWaal began her musical career by posting videos of her ...

as Susan "Stargirl" Caraway * Elijah Richardson as Evan *

Judy Greer Judith Therese Evans (born July 20, 1975), known professionally as Judy Greer, is an American actress. She is primarily known as a character actress, who has appeared in a wide variety of films. She first rose to prominence in a variety of suppor ...

as Ana Caraway *

Uma Thurman Uma Karuna Thurman (born April 29, 1970) is an American actress and former model. She has performed in a variety of films, from romantic comedies and dramas to science fiction and action films. Following her appearances on the December 1985 an ...

as Roxanne Martel *

Judd Hirsch Judd Seymore Hirsch (born March 15, 1935) is an American actor. He is known for playing Alex Rieger on the television comedy series ''Taxi'' (1978–1983), John Lacey on the NBC series '' Dear John'' (1988–1992), and Alan Eppes on the CBS series ...

as Mr. Mitchell *

Tyrel Jackson Williams Tyrel Jackson Williams (born March 16, 1997) is an American actor. He starred as Leo Dooley in the Disney XD series ''Lab Rats''. Williams also co-starred in the 2014 Disney XD television film '' Pants on Fire''. From 2017 to 2020 he co-starred ...

as Terrell * Nija Okoro as Daphne * Chris Williams as George *

Al Madrigal Alessandro Liborio Madrigal (born July 4, 1971)"'W ...

as Iggy *

Ben Geurens Ben Geurens (born 24 December 1979) is an Australian actor. Biography Geurens graduated from NIDA in 2004. At drama school his credits include '' The Return'', ''Romeo and Juliet'', ''Much Ado About Nothing'', and ''Who's Afraid of the Working C ...

as Daniel * Kristin Slaysman as Jody *

Sarayu Blue Sarayu Rao (born March 7, 1975), also known as Sarayu R. Blue, is an American actress. She is perhaps best known for her recurring role as Angela on the Fox sitcom ''Sons of Tucson'', as well as Dr. Sydney Napur on David E. Kelley's ''Monday Morn ...

as Priya Collins * Conor Husting as Pedro * Sara Amini as Nicole * Noah Taliferro as Mike * Kelly Sry as Daryl * Adrienne Beal as June * Starr Gilliard as Etta Tutu * Matt Cordova as Ken

Production

A sequel to '' Stargirl'' was announced to be in development.

returned to direct, while

reprises her role as Stargirl Caraway. Elijah Richardson and

joined the cast by February 2021, with Greer replacing Sara Arrington as Ana, Stargirl's mother.

Michael Penn Michael Daniel Penn (born August 1, 1958) is an American musician, singer and composer. He is noted for the 1989 single " No Myth", a top 20 hit in the US and successful in several other countries. Early life Penn was born in the Greenwich Vi ...

wrote music for the film, while Hart and

wrote the screenplay. By March

and

had joined the cast.

Principal photography Principal photography is the phase of producing a film or television show in which the bulk of shooting takes place, as distinct from the phases of pre-production and post-production. Personnel Besides the main film personnel, such as actor ...

began in May 2021 in

Orange County Orange County most commonly refers to: *Orange County, California, part of the Los Angeles metropolitan area Orange County may also refer to: U.S. counties *Orange County, Florida, containing Orlando *Orange County, Indiana *Orange County, New ...

, California, and wrapped in July. VanderWaal wrote and performed an original song in the film, "Figure it Out".

Release

The official trailer was released on May 2, 2022, and the film premiered on May 23, 2022, at the

in Los Angeles, California.Pizzello, Chris
"LA Premiere of ''Hollywood Stargirl''"
''The Lufkin Daily News'', May 23, 2022 It was released on

on June 3, 2022.

Reception

Courtney Howard of ''

Variety Variety may refer to: Arts and entertainment Entertainment formats * Variety (radio) * Variety show, in theater and television Films * ''Variety'' (1925 film), a German silent film directed by Ewald Andre Dupont * ''Variety'' (1935 film), ...

'' stated that Hart's sequel manages to develop a new Disney franchise that stays both creative and pleasant and praised the narrative and the performances. Noel Murray of ''

Los Angeles Times The ''Los Angeles Times'' (abbreviated as ''LA Times'') is a daily newspaper that started publishing in Los Angeles in 1881. Based in the LA-adjacent suburb of El Segundo since 2018, it is the sixth-largest newspaper by circulation in the Un ...

'' found the film even more pleasant than its predecessor and the cast members likable, while complimenting the music. Natalia Winkelman of ''

The New York Times ''The New York Times'' (''the Times'', ''NYT'', or the Gray Lady) is a daily newspaper based in New York City with a worldwide readership reported in 2020 to comprise a declining 840,000 paid print subscribers, and a growing 6 million paid ...

'' commented that Stargirl appears more balanced and charismatic than the previous movie. Radhika Menon of ''

Decider Decider is both a real word and a "Bushism". It may refer to: * ''Decider'' (website), a pop culture website operated by the ''New York Post'' *'' Bill Maher: The Decider'', a stand-up comedy special * Decider (Turing machine), a Turing machine th ...

'' found VanderWaal very charismatic as Stargirl, liked the performances of the actors and the chemistry between them, and praised the film's positive messages and role models. Kate Erbland of ''

IndieWire IndieWire (sometimes stylized as indieWIRE or Indiewire) is a film industry and review website that was established in 1996. The site's focus was predominantly independent film, although its coverage has grown to "to include all aspects of Hollyw ...

'' gave the film a B- rating, found Stargirl to be an unconventional yet agreeable character that emphasizes self authenticity, complimented the film for its humor and sensitivity and praised the performances. Jennifer Green of ''

Common Sense Media Common Sense Media (CSM) is an organization that reviews and provides ratings for media and technology with the goal of providing information on their suitability for children.

'' rated the film 3 out of 5 stars, commended the film's positive messages, citing kindness and hope, and its diverse cast, and praised the presence of role models, stating that VanderWaal's character is a respectful, open-minded and inspiring character.

References

External links

* {{Julia Hart 2022 drama films 2022 films 2020s coming-of-age drama films 2020s English-language films 2020s high school films 2020s musical drama films American coming-of-age drama films American musical drama films American sequel films Disney+ original films Films about filmmaking Films about interracial romance Films based on American novels Films based on young adult literature Films directed by Julia Hart Films scored by Michael Penn Films set in Los Angeles Films shot in California Walt Disney Pictures films 2020s American films