As the 2026 movie season enters its final stretch, along comes “Cookie Queens” to add another stellar alternative to the big-bang, big-budget blockbusters. Yes, it’s a documentary, but an irresistible and heart-warming one that celebrates the human spirit, with a far-reaching appeal that encompasses all ages.
The film focuses on four young Girl Scouts as Girl Scout Cookie season approaches: Ara, Nikki, Olive, and Shannon Elizabeth. They hail from different parts of the country and have different backgrounds. Their common goal is to sell as many boxes of Girl Scout Cookies in the time allotted, thereby earning money and prizes. Each year, the cookie sales top off at approximately $800 million, making it a very profitable annual tradition.
The film honors and celebrates these industrious young ladies, not merely as salespeople, but as human beings. Each girl comes across as enormously appealing, and writer/producer/director Alysa Nahmias does a marvelous job of capturing their individual lives and — since they don’t interact with each other — condensing their stories thoroughly and expediently.
Of the four, the two who tend to stand out are Ara, the youngest of the bunch, whose sales goal is a modest 55 boxes. Ara is an aspiring (and talented) pianist, and she’s diabetic, which limits her intake of the very product she is selling, but the scenes of her lugging a wagon from house to house to sell the cookies are simply beautiful. Hers is perhaps the most inspirational story of the four, and her dogged determination is infectious.
Olive, who hails from Charlotte, is undoubtedly the most ambitious and, comparatively speaking, aggressive salesperson, with an initial goal of 6,000 boxes (!). A natural go-getter, she expresses her desire to become a Supreme Court justice (more power to her!) and also her concerns about the profit margin of selling Girl Scout cookies, going so far as to draft a missive to the powers-that-be about expanding said profit margin. But she’s self-aware enough to realize the pressures she puts upon herself, leading to moments of doubt and insecurity.
Nikki and Shannon Elizabeth definitely have their moments too, so they never fall by the wayside. The viewer really has an opportunity to get to know all the girls profiled here, and it’s a delight to make their acquaintance.
Augmented by a first-rate score by Amanda Delores Patricia Jones and a choice song selection, “Cookie Queens” is, not unlike Girl Scout Cookies, a morsel to be savored and enjoyed. It’s entertaining, illuminating, and even triumphant. You go, girls!
See Mark Burger’s reviews of current movies. © 2026, Mark Burger.