Hollywood Stargirl
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 "Is this Disneyland?"
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Hollywood Stargirl is a 2022 American teen romantic drama film directed by Julia Hart from a screenplay that she co-wrote with Jordan Horowitz. The film is a sequel to the 2020 film Stargirl, which was in turn based on Jerry Spinelli's 2000 novel of the same name; it is not an adaptation of the novel's sequel Love, Stargirl.
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.
The film premiered on May 23, 2022, at the El Capitan Theatre in Los Angeles, California, and was released on Disney+ 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.
Why It's a Hollywood Star(girl)
- Despite being a turnoff for some people (see NSHQ#1), this film takes the source material of the Stargirl novels, and does something new with it, while also retaining the charm that this film's predecessor had.
- The idea of a movie about 3 teens trying to make a movie is an excellent idea, and makes for an interesting premise. In other words, a movie within a movie.
- Due to this being a standalone movie, you don’t necessarily have to watch the first Stargirl movie to fully understand what’s going on.
- While it doesn’t really fully explain why Stargirl left Leo Borlock in the first place, it does showcase where Stargirl disappeared to at the end of this film's predecessor.
- The performances are still as phenomenal as ever, especially Grace VanderWaal reprising her role as Susan "Stargirl" Caraway.
- Stargirl is still just as likable as she was in this film's predecessor.
- In addition, there are some new characters that are likable as well, such as Evan and Terrell.
- "Is this Disneyland?"
- Stargirl learns the importance of friendship and camaraderie, which can leave the overall movie with a really valuable lesson.
Not So Hollywood Qualities
- Despite being a sequel to the first Stargirl film and while trying something new isn’t exactly a bad thing, it isn’t entirely faithful to the book's sequel, Love, Stargirl and instead invents its own source material, which while it is indeed a good idea, it can also be quite a turnoff for some fans of the books.
- Despite a brief mention in a scene, Leo Borlock (a prominent male character in this movie's predecessor) is nowhere to be seen, not even in a flashback or post credits scene, which is a disappointingly missed opportunity.
- Even though this movie showcases where Stargirl disappeared to at the end of the first film, it is never really properly explained why Stargirl left Leo Borlock again in the first place, and the fact that there wasn’t even a flashback recapping the events of the first film doesn’t exactly help matters either.
- Stargirl saying "What?" in the movie so many times can get pretty cliched, repetitive, and overall predictable.
Reception
On the review aggregator website Rotten Tomatoes, 100% of 16 critics' reviews are positive, with an average rating of 6.8/10.
Courtney Howard of Variety 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 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 commented that "Stargirl appears more balanced and charismatic than the previous movie". Radhika Menon of Decider 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 gave the film a B− rating, finding 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 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".