Girlhood Movie Database

29. "Wuthering Heights" (2026)

Two months after it arrived (and everyone seemed to have an opinion on it), does anyone even care about Emerald Fennell’s “WUTHERING HEIGHTS” anymore? We do, I guess. We both agree this movie would be more interesting if it was far better or far worse, because middling movies just aren’t very fun! We get into the film’s characterization and aesthetics, Emily Brontë’s novel, and how the movie functions, according to Fennell herself, as an act of teenage “wish fulfillment.” 
 
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Secondary texts referenced:
Wuthering Heights by Emily Brontë
The Annotated Wuthering Heights by Emily Brontë, edited by Janet Gezari
Wuthering Heights (2011) dir. Andrea Arnold
“The 32 Best (and Worst) Wuthering Heights Adaptations” by Bilge Ebiri
Emerald Fennell profile in the Los Angeles Times

28. Hedda

What is cinematic pleasure, you ask? We offer Nia DaCosta’s HEDDA (2025) as an answer: stylish formal choices, substantive commentary on gender/race/class, delicious sexual tension, and a transfixing titular character whose antics range from petty revenge to evil. We also manage to put the film in conversation with Saltburn (a far inferior object, Marin argues) and the panned Ryan Murphy legal drama All’s Fair (which Maggie watched during a bout of the flu). 
 
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27. 2025 Reflections (AKA the 2nd Annual Maggie and Marin Movie Awards)

Yes, we’re already a month into 2026, but that’s not going to stop us from reflecting on Girlhood Movie Database’s 2025! We’re awarding our favorite films, performances, and intertextualities that we covered on this podcast, along with additional pop culture that brought us joy. Happy New Year! 
 
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26. Little Women (2019)

Greta Gerwig’s 2019 adaptation of LITTLE WOMEN is one of Marin’s all-time favorite films, while this was Maggie’s first time watching it. We praise Gerwig’s unique screenplay and meticulous blocking, debate if Amy’s character is redeemable in this version, agree that Beth is actually the best March sister, and both almost cry on mic because this film is so moving. (There’s also an extended prologue about our current Botox/filler epidemic and Kim Kardashian’s acting career, so buckle up.)
 
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Secondary texts referenced:
Little Women by Louisa May Alcott
Little Women (1994) dir. Gillian Armstrong

25. Crimson Peak

This Halloween we’re delving into a horror we like to call “marrying a hot stranger who’s a walking red flag.” Guillermo del Toro’s gothic-horror melodrama CRIMSON PEAK was a formative theater-going experience for teenage Marin and a decade later she’s happy to report that it still rules. We have a lot to say about its pulpiness, violence, and romance, plus some tangents about Ryan Murphy and Charlie Hunnam.   
 
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Secondary texts referenced:
Hereditary (2018) dir. Ari Aster
Jane Eyre by Charlotte Brontë
Longlegs (2024) dir. Osgood Perkins
Wuthering Heights by Emily Brontë

24. Girls Will Be Girls

Sometimes a movie just gets that an integral part of teenage girldom is being mean to your mom after she’s nice to you! Hence our fervent praise for Shuchi Talati’s GIRLS WILL BE GIRLS (2024), which is a nuanced and detailed story about a mother-daughter relationship in flux. 
 
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Secondary texts referenced:
Make-Up (2019) dir. Claire Oakley
Portrait of A Lady on Fire (2019) dir. Celine Sciamma
The Starling Girl (2023) dir. Laurel Parmet

23. Troop Beverly Hills

Today we’re discussing a formative text from Marin’s childhood/Girl Scout days: TROOP BEVERLY HILLS (1989). This movie was critically shredded upon release—mostly due to its humane depiction of the upper class—and, well, do we have a newsflash for the critics of 1989: the rich characters in this movie are nothing compared to the 1% ruining everyone’s lives in 2025! We also have a lot to say about expressions of femininity, queer coding, the trad wife movement, and professional critics slinging ad hominem attacks against child actors. 
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22. My Old Ass

More like “my ass is crying”! We’re talking about Megan Park’s charming, wise, and slightly fantastical coming-of-age film MY OLD ASS (2024), which we wholeheartedly recommend you watch.
 
If you have arrived at the ARRIVAL SPOILER WARNING, skip to 41:45.
 
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Secondary texts referenced:
Rabbit Hole (2010) dir. John Cameron Mitchell
Arrival (2016) dir. Denis Villeneuve

21. Love & Basketball

We’re cleansing our hearts and brains this week by discussing a very good movie with real, human stakes! What a relief. Gina Prince-Bythewood’s LOVE & BASKETBALL (2000) has us cheering, laughing, and appreciating the beauty of sports despite our own personal lack of athletic prowess. Do we question if the male lead proves himself to be a worthy romantic partner? Sure, but those reservations are also connected to the film’s thoughtful portrayal of ambition and its evolving nature. We also appreciate any movie which gives us the opportunity to consider the weird cultural legacy of Tyra Banks.    
 
Special thanks to Jess for providing this episode’s Juvenalia Encore <3
 
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Secondary texts referenced:
There’s Always This Year: On Basketball and Ascension by Hanif Abdurraqib

20. The Twilight Saga, Part 2 (Breaking Dawn)

Well, if you ever wanted to hear a 2-hour-ish rumination on the confusing and contradictory sexual politics of THE TWILIGHT SAGA, you’re in luck. How does this series feel like an obvious metaphor for Christian purity culture while also having no sense of its own metaphorical resonance? What does Renesmee’s “miraculous” conception say about the films’ attitudes towards sex? Is it possible to tell a compelling story about a human-vampire romance if that story is solely in service to a stereotypical “happily-ever-after”? It’s a minefield! At least the Volturi are fun. 
 
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Secondary texts referenced:
Beauty and the Beast (1991) dirs. Gary Trousdale and Kirk Wise
Buffy the Vampire Slayer (season 2, episodes 13, 14, and 22)
The Gospel of Mary Magdalene, translated by Jean-Yves Leloup, foreword by Jacob Needleman