IFC Films dropped the official trailer for How To Build A Girl, the upcoming comedy film based Caitlyn Moran‘s bestselling novel of the same name. Directed by Coky Giedroyc, the coming-of-age film stars Beanie Feldstein (Booksmart) as the main character, an average teenager turned rebellious music critic. Alongside Feldstein, the film co-stars Alfie Allen, Paddy Considine, Chris O’Dowd, and Emma Thompson. In addition, Moran and John Niven penned the screenplay.
The synopsis given by IFC reads: “Johana Morrigan (Feldstein) is a bright, sassy 16-year-old who uses her colorful imagination to regularly escape her humdrum life in Wolverhampton and live out her creative fantasies. Desperate to break free from the overcrowded flat she shares with her four brothers and eccentric parents, she submits an earnestly penned and off-beat music review to a group of self-important indie rock critics at a weekly magazine. Johana finds herself clamoring to the top of the ’90s rock music scene by reinventing herself as Dolly Wilde – a venerable, impossible-to-please music critic with an insatiable lust for fame, fortune, and men. However, the rapid pace at which Johana’s life is changing becomes overwhelming and she runs face-first into a devastatingly real, existential crisis. This hilarious, coming-of-age film spotlights the rocky road to womanhood as she questions the type of girl she has become, and if she needs to start over and rebuild her identity from the ground up.”
The trailer begins with Johana earnestly asking photos of late celebrities and fictional characters how much long she will be stuck living with her family as her life as become a humdrum. Her brother tells her to stop complaining and suggests that she apply to become a rock critic for a magazine. However, she is quickly turned down for the role.
Johana then decides to take it upon herself to change her whole identity, dyeing her hair bright red and adopting a new wardrobe. To her family, she announces, “Johanna Morrigan is dead. This is the legendary Dolly Wilde.” She finds her passion for rock ‘n’ roll and decides to reinvent herself as a music critic. A montage of clips ensue of her dancing in the concert, meeting a musician (Allen), her worried family as they see her spiral into a rebellious mess.
At the end of the trailer, Johana/Dolly Wilde demands to run the next issue of her critique, in which she receives a hilarious response: “are you in fact pretending to be Elvis right now?”
How to Build a Girl will be available on VOD on May 8. Watch the trailer below:
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