Nerdspin Girlhood has many depictions, definitions and feelings. How can anyone truly capture what that time in a girl’s life is like when we all experience things differently? The truth is, no one can. But when someone can take different elements and feelings of being a girl, mix them all together, and produce a piece that explores growing up as a whole, that is where magic can be found. Writer-director Tyler-Marie Evans does just that in her directorial debut Pretty Babies. A combination of cinematic magic, pop funk beats, and an impeccable and talented ensemble, get ready to discover yourself and strap in for the road trip of the summer.
Teenage girls, Marie (Emily Alyn Lind) and Luna (Sadie Stanley) are ready to leave their hometown behind, ready to be movie stars. On a whim they start the long drive from Texas to run away to Hollywood chasing stardom. On their journey, they find two girls on the street and take them with them to their destiny. Within moments, their bright journey turns dark as trouble awaits. Turning to prostitution, the girls become trapped in the underbelly of the sex workers industry. The darkness teaches them a lot as they struggle to make it to Los Angeles, changing more than just themselves along the way.
Why Pretty Babies Announces Tyler-Marie Evans as a Director to Watch
Women are beautiful, inside and out. What is more important in that statement, that acknowledgement, is seeing what is within. We are all encompassing when people truly see us. That is what Evans wants viewers to see in her film. More than a road trip movie, what is on the outside can be so much more when you dig down deep and go into the internal of what she is doing in Pretty Babies. Reminding everyone who they are.
A true vision and eye for the joys and the sorrows, of girlhood. Evans’ directorial debut is stylish, somber and even rough when it needs to be. Pretty Babies is surprisingly unexpected. Crafting a story that proves girls can be anything they want, she focuses on the all too well known allure of Hollywood but reminds us that dreams can always remain dreams. Somethings are just too good to be true, unless we keep pushing forward. Unlike other tales of the underbelly in the world of sex workers, Evans changes the pace and shows the truth and reality that can come with the job. Of course, romanticized all around, her choices add a more feminine touch and honesty to the joy, pain and sadness the girls all feel.
As young girls, we always want to be seen for who we really are. There is a picture painted of us from the outside, how others perceive us, not how we truly are. Marie and Luna are two characters who have never truly been seen by those around them. They are the only two in each other’s lives who know the other. Their friendship is crafted through all they have lived and experienced together. But in Evans’ script, these things can never be that simple. Not only is the film an exploration of the realities and struggles of Hollywood, it is a study into friendship and the self as well.
Feminine identity is the core of Pretty Babies. Within that is the journey each of the girls take. This stems not only from the script and the crafting of the characters, but from the breathtaking performances of its ensemble. Lind, Stanley, Ashley Benson and Madelaine Petsch bring their all for the roles of a lifetime. As you watch them, you can see the passion and the effort they put into their characters. Two girls on the side of the road, Benson and Petsch are used as the shifting in gears from Marie and Luna. But in that, they provide just what they need for the journey and story to continue on.
Opposite ends of the spectrum in a way, but just as good of best friends. Marie and Luna are just what you would want in a double protagonist exploratory film of female growth and journey. In their work with their director, the effort they put into each performance can be felt. Lind’s Marie is innocent and wants to be sexually desired, a feeling some of us know quite well. With this, her performance is soft and raw. Then, with Stanley, there is a greater sense of power and strength in Luna. So she needs to add in the screams and then tone it down with the pain. Working hand in hand we witness them and we truly can feel ourselves in the girls’ journey not only across the country, but more primarily in life.
Every aspect of Pretty Babies wants you to see a little bit more of its meaning. It is in the visuals as much as it is in the script and the actors. An inspirational tale of two girls wanting to make it big in Hollywood, Evans adds in her own personal touch. Reminiscing on the ladies of old-Hollywood — Bette Davis, Joan Crawford — we witness the magic of the times “…before their innocence was taken.” as described within the film. Opposing these ideals Evans also reminds her audience of how isolating it is to be a woman. Using the framing and hiding the girls through mirrors or glass, that typical cinematic trope further extends the loneliness and separation we females can experience living in different times.
Pretty Babies is a feminine study into the self with heart and passion in its presentation. A very clear eye for what she wants to show, Tyler-Marie Evans has opened up a world for conversation to follow.”
“See past the pretty and notice the special.” Knowing our worth and value is such an important type of female empowerment and Tyler-Marie Evans captures this beautifully in her piece. Giving audiences a chance to connect with each character and see ourselves, Pretty Babies explores sex workers, truth and the reality of Hollywood, and what it means to be a woman. To truly be a woman and feel it all, see it all and experience it all. The wildest road trip summer film you can get, but with pure innocence, pain and heart at its core. Pretty Babies is truly a film to keep your eyes peeled for. As it world premieres on Friday, August 14, 2026, at the Edinburgh International Film Festival, we can only wait for it to spread its wings and take flight into bigger places. In doing so, giving all of us the chance to feel.
Grade: A
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Pretty Babies
Two teenage girls run away to Hollywood, chasing stardom, but their dreams lead them into prostitution, trapping them in the dark underbelly of the sex work industry as they travel from Texas to California.
Release Date: August 14, 2026
Director: Tyler-Marie Evans
Cast: Ashley Benson , Emily Alyn Lind , Madelaine Petsch
Ecoustics 
Why is being a Zodi so bad 
Female Original 
January Girl 
Maxine Evans Photography 
