7/12 ForReel Score | 3/5 Stars

I didn’t spend enough time outside as a child to even consider joining the boy scouts. I demanded to spend every weekend in an air conditioned movie theater. As such, Alysa Nahmias’ samoa slinging documentary Cookie Queens is my first at length exposure to this culture. I preface that because while watching, I felt unexpectedly judgemental towards the troop organizers and parents who have decided that this is a worthwhile hustle for their young ones. Like everything else these days, this hobby cannot simply be a fun way for these girls to practice their people skills and make a few bucks in the process. Instead, they’re essentially conscripted into a junior multilevel marketing scheme in which there is very real pressure to hit sales numbers. Perhaps these people have convinced themselves that this is a way to prepare them for the cruel world they’re about to enter, but all I could see were childhoods ending far too fast. Cookie Queens does not hide from this reality, but it does heavily glamorize it through the eyes of its’ adorable vendors.

We follow young Olive, Ara, Shannon-Elizabeth and Nikki through the six week cookie selling season. Some experiences are more positive than others. Olive has future Supreme Court justice energy, headstrong and determined to over achieve despite having fairly mellow parents. Ara is a bit awkward but the face to face time with adults seems to positively impact her social skills in a meaningful way. Then…you’ve got Shannon-Elizabeth and Nikki, lovely kids with the most irritating parents imaginable. Shannon-Elizabeth’s are financially struggling but decide to go in on thousands of cookies (the piles of boxes could fill an entire room). They repeatedly acknowledge that if Shannon-Elizabeth does not hit her numbers, they will not be able to make payments on their home, putting palpable pressure on a very young person’s work ethic. Meanwhile, Nikki’s folks are possessed by a grindset mentality, lording a summer vacation over the heads of all of their children, even their burgeoning teenagers who are aging out of this racket.

It just doesn’t have to be this way. Despite the film’s chipper cadence, it’s disheartening to watch cookie capitalism consume what should just be a fun summer hobby. I can understand the value of this on some level. It’s a delight to watch these girls receive validation as great salespeople from the customers and I can only imagine how empowering that must be to a young mind. Surely at some point in time this activity was just a carefree lark to provide that experience. Perhaps exploring that history a little could’ve given Nahmias’ film a bit more depth and weight, especially if any of these moms were former scouts themselves. That contrast might’ve disrupted the allegedly pleasant vibes but without it, I’m only left to wonder why this industry was ever allowed to grow into the monstrosity we witness here.

I put none of this weight on the four young stars, who are all enjoyable to spend time with. They are the only reason why Nahmias is able to sell this film as a pleasant experience and I can only hope that whatever money Cookie Queens makes can in part go towards their college funds. Olive is my personal favorite, only because she is essentially a real life version of the precocious class president type who always reads as a bit over the top in YA fiction. However, they all get moments to shine, and I sincerely hope that my reluctance to accept this as a positive moment in their coming of age journey is just me being overprotective towards them.

Cookie Queens will probably be a blissful watch for those who aren’t prone to chronic overthinking. Nahmias curates a bouncy and light vibe that strings us along on this summer adventure. Her interviews with these kids are remarkable, she is clearly adept at interacting with them in ways that allow them to open up in natural and revealing ways. I just couldn’t help but find it all a bit sad, which is a bummer in a time where any activity that requires kids to put the iPad down must be cherished.

Movie Review: "Cookie Queens" Depicts The Modern Commodification of a Classic American Tradition