How to Build a Girl
A financially struggling teenager invents a flamboyant music-critic persona to escape provincial hardship and discover who she really wants to be.
Ember's analysis
- Pacing
- Brisk
- Intensity
- Moderate
- Complexity
- Easy to follow
- Violence
- None
- witty
- earnest
- warm
- lazy sunday
- teen movie night
What critics said
Critics broadly found the film charming and earnest, with Beanie Feldstein's performance giving a familiar coming-of-age comedy an appealing warmth despite its imperfections.
What sets it apart
May contain story progression spoilers
Johanna reinvents herself as the provocative music critic Dolly Wilde while entering London's music scene.
Johanna pursues work as a music critic to leave poverty and help her family.
Johanna's transformation and career aspirations are directly tied to her poverty-stricken family in Wolverhampton.
Johanna's music criticism and London social world connect her self-invention to British youth music culture.
Films like How to Build a Girl, and why
Lady Bird
coming-of-age comedy about a teenage girl reshaping her identity through popular culture and ambition
Almost Famous
music-centered coming-of-age story about youthful self-invention, family tension, and finding a place in a creative world
The Edge of Seventeen
witty, warm youth comedy about a socially awkward protagonist navigating romance, confidence, and personal transformation
Rocks
female-led period coming-of-age comedy balancing rebellious self-fashioning, family pressures, and emerging independence
Movie Details
- Director
- Coky Giedroyc
- Release Date
- 2020-09-24
- Runtime
- 102 min
- Rating
- 5.8 / 10 (69)
Cast
- Beanie Feldstein
- Paddy Considine
- Sarah Solemani
- Alfie Allen
- Frank Dillane
- Laurie Kynaston
- Arinzé Kene
- Tadhg Murphy
- Ziggy Heath
- Bobby Schofield
Where to watch in United States
- Streaming
- Philo, AMC Plus Apple TV channel, AMC+ Amazon Channel, AMC+ Roku Premium Channel, AMC+, Sundance Now
- Rent
- Apple TV Store
- Buy
- Amazon Video, Apple TV Store, Google Play Movies, YouTube, Fandango At Home
Streaming options come from TMDB and change over time.
Common questions
- What is How to Build a Girl about?
- A financially struggling teenager invents a flamboyant music-critic persona to escape provincial hardship and discover who she really wants to be.
- What is How to Build a Girl like to watch?
- Ember's analysis rates the pacing of How to Build a Girl as brisk, its intensity as moderate and its storytelling as easy to follow.
- Is How to Build a Girl violent?
- No — Ember's analysis finds no violence in How to Build a Girl.
- What did critics think of How to Build a Girl?
- Critics broadly found the film charming and earnest, with Beanie Feldstein's performance giving a familiar coming-of-age comedy an appealing warmth despite its imperfections.
- Which films are like How to Build a Girl?
- Films with a similar feel include Lady Bird, Almost Famous, The Edge of Seventeen, and Rocks.
- How long is How to Build a Girl?
- How to Build a Girl runs 102 minutes.
- Where can I watch How to Build a Girl?
- In United States, How to Build a Girl streams on Philo, AMC Plus Apple TV channel, AMC+ Amazon Channel, AMC+ Roku Premium Channel, AMC+, Sundance Now.
