Comedy

How to Build a Girl

Comedy

A teenager living with her working-class family on a council estate in Wolverhampton, England, grows up to become a popular but conflicted music journalist.

Year

2020

Duration

1h 42m

IMDb

6.0

Trailer

Cast

Beanie Feldstein

Johanna Morrigan

C

Cleo

Bianca Morrigan

Dónal Finn

Karl Boden

Paddy Considine

Pat Morrigan

Laurie Kynaston

Krissi Morrigan

SP

Stellan Powell

Lupin Morrigan

FP

Freya Perry

Morrigan Twin

HP

Harper Perry

Morrigan Twin

VA

Violet Amer

Morrigan Twin

Sarah Solemani

Angie Morrigan

Andi Oliver

Donna Summer

Michael Sheen

Dr. Freud

Sue Perkins

Emily Bronte

Mel Giedroyc

Charlotte Bronte

Alexei Sayle

Karl Marx

Lily Allen

Elizabeth Taylor

Gemma Arterton

Maria von Trapp

Jameela Jamil

Cleopatra

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Comments

10 comments

Jonathan MorningstarAug 22, 2024

I give it 10 stars because of the poor ratings thus far. The performances by beanie feldstein & Alfie Allen were especially incredible. Really quite moving. It will have you catching feels in no time. Beanie's comedic timing is spot-on. She blew me away. Such an incredible talent. I can't wait to see more of her in the future. And Alfie Allen, my goodness, who knew he could be such a heartbreaker. It's easy to see why anyone; let alone a naïve teen girl, would have no problems falling head-first in love with hm. Alfie's performance was by far his best to date, and it's a joy to experience the way in which he brings the character of John Kite to life in such an effortless fashion. It's really quite engaging. His musical number gave me the chills. The chemistry between the two was surprisingly charming. kite was the only man in her life that you could really route for, aside from her likable, yet ultimately disappointing father. Her father cared more about making his own rockstar dreams come true than care for the his happiness and success of his daughter. To his credit he did possess A few redeeming qualities here and there. I can easily forgive any plot issues or constant changes from our protagonist because that's true to life when you're discovering who you are for the first time. It is a coming of age story after all. Personally, I didn't take issue with the pacing or it's character development. To me it felt magical and moving. At times Hysterically funny, other times charming and refreshing. If you don't mind the dare-to-be different approach to life and film making you won't be disappointed.

Srabanti GintuAug 22, 2024

I thoroughly enjoyed this film. It was the 'Surprise Film ' at DIFF in Dublin tonight. Great cast interaction and the story was enjoyable. Good girl goes bad has success and realises she really wants to be good. Not stuffy and lots of fun with some good music.

cute sid 143Aug 22, 2024

Expected something rough, wasn't bad. She did a great accent, I was listening carefully for any hiccups in it and nothing too bad. after a few scene she disappeared into the character and made it believable. Exactly what an actor suppose to do. Story was allright, but standard fare. Soundtrack could have been better by choosing more unique tracks rather than the ones that are more known.

abhijay SinghAug 22, 2024

I love Beanie. But why, in many films and TV shows that are set in and around the Black Country area, do they not cast actors from the same area, or who can at least do the accent? Paddy's accent was OK. But that's it. I'm from Wolverhampton and I was disgusted and cringing throughout the whole film. Only 5 stars because it was a poor film anyway.

Huda AdilMay 29, 2023

source: How to Build a Girl

_j.mi______Nov 22, 2022

Although I had read the sequel to this story, How To Be Famous, I hadn't read the first book on Caitlin Moran's heavily fictionalised self, Johanna Morrigan. Her style is all over the script. And I am living for it! Her writing is so funny, witty, savage, smart and unique - something that is sourly missing in today's circles. I was very surprised at how brilliant Beanie Feldstein is in this role, being an American. But she nailed both the accent and the part amazingly well. I sincerely hope they decide to do the sequel for this!

BryATK✨Nov 22, 2022

Caitlin Moran. I was never a fan of her penmanship. I was around at the time she was writing for MM. I know who some of the people in this garbage are supposed to be. I was working in the music industry, but for a label who would and does steer well clear of these people. Still going strong. The lad culture was scary. the movie also reminds us of probably the worst period in British music history. Brit pop, NWONW, just rancid. The Blair years, folk having a party and not wanting to clean the mess. I knew one artist from a well known band who had a major breakdown from one 'critic' hurling the worst abuse about his record. That same critic is still on social media bullying this artist. They thought they had it all while giving nothing back. The movie is just a repetition of Moran. Nothing to say. Maybe this is another 12 step program for her, or another money grab from emptiness.

Chirag RajgorNov 22, 2022

Caitlin Moran's novel (who also wrote the screenplay) 'How To Build a Girl' tells the story of teenager Johanna Morrigan's (Beanie Feldstein - Booksmart) journey as she reinvents herself as Dolly Wilde. Yesterday, a teenager in search of her own identity; today, a sex-positive wild child with an infamous look, and trash talking the finest artists of her era for her new job as a critic in London, to help out her financially struggling family in Wolverhampton. Feldstein plays a somewhat similar, but this time British, character as she did in last year's Booksmart. A tad bit more insecure, but still driven and charismatic. It does distract a little when she channels Melanie C in 'Spiceworld' with her British accent. Not necessarily a bad thing, since this is mostly the case in the first half of the film, before Johanna turns into a completely different version of herself. Heavily influenced by the collection of talking portraits of important historic figures on her bedroom wall, and by connecting with her brother Krissi (Laurie Kynaston - The Trouble With Maggie Cole), she goes on to forming a young woman's personality who can stand on her own for a big future to come. The chemistry between the members of the Morrigan-family feels genuine. Especially Paddy Considine (HBO's 'The Outsider') as Johanna's father and wannabe rock'n'roll-fanatic, has some heartwarming moments with his on screen daughter and is a lot of fun to watch. When it comes to a true scene stealing performance, we have to wait until about halfway into the film, when Johanna gets to interview rocker John Kite. Played by Alfie Allen (HBO's 'Game of Thrones'), he has one big scene in a hotel room with Feldstein, which isn't just emotionally raw, but showcases once again how good he is at playing a vulnerable, troubled man. Coky Giedroyc has directed plenty of episodes for television (most recently 'Harlots'), but never seems to want to upstage that with something that's made for the big screen. Everything feels a bit too BBC, and while there's nothing wrong with that, it does limit the wide range of people that could show interest in watching this. Nothing makes 'How To Build a Girl' stand out. It feels like it borrows a lot from other coming-of-age films, and while there is a lot of clever stuff to be found, it doesn't particularly digs itself into your brain to be memorable. The script itself is riddled with clever nods to iconic literary figures (such as Little Women's Jo March), and you'll never listen to Annie's "Tomorrow" the same way ever again. 'How To Build a Girl' was made to connect with plenty of teenagers out there, who might be struggling with finding their own identity. As far as originality goes, it doesn't really discover any new ground, which for a film like this might be enough to entertain those who are looking for just a straightforward charming story.

user6000890851723Nov 22, 2022

I read the books before seeing the movie and I think this adaption of the first (out of two) books is great and exactly what I had hoped it to be. It's entertaining, it's funny, it's quirky. It's a bit touching. Alfie Allen sings like a dream and is a gift in this (as he usually is in anything he's in) and Beanie Feldstein does a great job as Johanna/Dolly Wilde. I wish the two of them had more screen time together - that's my only complaint, really. Here's to hoping for a sequel if they chose to film book no. 2 as well.

M❤️K[][]Nov 22, 2022

I absolutely LOVE Beanie Feldstein and she's just perfect as Johanna, she really got in the role and nailed it. "How to build a girl" is a nice movie to watch in your chill time. It's a fun movie, not the best ever, but it's worth whatching.