Cookie Queens

by Mike McGranaghan

Is there anyone in America who hasn’t come into contact with a Girl Scout cookie? Most of us have eaten them. All of us have had a little girl ring our doorbell or approach us outside a Walmart, hoping to sell a box of Samoas or Tagalongs. The documentary Cookie Queens is guaranteed to leave you more likely to make a purchase next season. Director Alysa Nahmias follows four young girls who are fiercely committed to meeting their sales goals.

One of the catches is that each Girl Scout has to pre-purchase her own supply, so they’re essentially betting on their ability to sell. Ara is a diabetic five-year-old newcomer who has set a modest goal of 55 boxes. Shannon Elizabeth comes from a working-class family that will face serious financial hardship if too many boxes are left unsold. Nikki, on the other hand, comes from a very wealthy family that orders $18,000 worth of cookies to sell. She wants to live up to the reputations of her older sisters, both of whom were previous top sellers in their region. Then there’s Olive, the reigning champ who puts endless pressure on herself to keep beating her own records.

The movie tracks the girls’ efforts to sell cookies over the course of the six-week season. Their approaches are different. Some utilize social media to advance the cause. Nikki sets up a flashy stand with lights, music, and singing. Finding high-traffic locations becomes a priority. Friends, relatives, and neighbors are hit up, and complete strangers are approached on the street. It’s quite fascinating to watch the different strategies employed.

There’s interesting subtext to Cookie Queens. Whether intended or not, we can clearly see that girls from affluent towns have a massive advantage. They live among shopping centers and other locations where people with lots of disposable income congregate. We also learn that the girls get exactly $1.00 from each $6.00 box, an inequity that spurs Olive to pen a letter to the head of the Girl Scouts. Despite the passion Ara, Shannon Elizabeth, Nikki, and Olive have for cookie sales – and the prizes that sales milestones can bring – it certainly seems as though the whole enterprise is wildly unbalanced.

Mostly, though, the documentary is just fun. All four girls have colorful, pleasant personalities, making them a joy to spend ninety-one minutes with. Parts of it are humorous, while others offer serious drama, as when Shannon Elizabeth’s parents realize they’ve dug themselves into a hole they may not be able to get out of. And, yes, all the cookie talk definitely makes you hungry.

Cookie Queens isn’t the deepest non-fiction film, but it’s entertaining, and the dedication of the girls is as sweet as a Thin Mint.