Cookie Queens Delivers an Abundance of Hope, One Cookie at a Time.

Since premiering at the Sundance Film Festival in January, Alysa Nahmias documentary Cookie Queens, has been one of my most anticipated films of the year. As someone who has volunteered as a Girl Scout Cookie Manager, I was eager to see the cookie selling season from a different perspective. But as difficult as managing the cookie orders can be, the girls selling these cookies deserve all the applause.

That's something that Cookie Queens does exceptionally well. It turns the camera on four girls– Olive (age 12), Nikki (Age 9), Shannon Elizabeth (Age 8), and Ara (age 5). Each of these girls has their own specific goal of cookies sold for the season, but that goal is special to them.

Olive is one of the top selling girls in the country, having sold over 8,000 cookies in a previous season. Her goal is to beat her record anyway she can. Nikki, meanwhile, just wants to be as successful as her older sisters who she idolizes. It would mean the world to her to be accepted by them, and selling these cookies might hold the key. Shannon Elizabeth really wants to go to summer camp. Selling Girl Scout cookies helps subsidies the cost of summer camp and her goal will allow her parents to send her. Finally, Ara simply wants to sell 60 boxes of cookies. It’s harder for her to explain her favorite cookie since she was diagnosed with Type-1 Diabetes at a young age and there are no sugar-free cookies available. 

Nahmias frames the documentary in chapters, checking to see how close the girls are to achieving their goal. What comes natural for some, like the ability to upsell or the convenience of being in a large community, is much harder for others. Shannon Elizabeth, in particular, struggles to find buyers for her cookies. This is where the cracks in the cooking selling business begin to widen. If you thought this documentary was entirely pro-Girl Scouts, Cookie Queens doesn’t let the organization off the hook. 

For a little background into the cookie season, all registered Girl Scouts may participate, but there’s large incentives built in to encourage participation. At the beginning of cookie selling season, troop leaders purchase the cookies directly from Girl Scouts. The upfront investment for some of these purchases is in the thousands of dollars. Cookies not sold by the troop at the end of the season must still be paid for and that leaves underselling troops on the hook. Shannon Elizabeth’s family is already in a tough place financially– if they had to purchase unsold cookies themselves, they might have to take out a loan. 

Predatory loaning of cookies isn't the only issue discussed in the documentary as Olive seeks answers for why proceeds going to troops is so low. Since boxes of cookies are sold per box typically for $6, Troops earn $1 for their troop per box of cookies, while the other $5 go back to council. Given that Olive has made Girl Scouts over $200,000 during her various cookie selling seasons, she wants answers from council. The idea often taught in Girl Scouts and Scouts is that we should “leave every place better than you found it.” Olive seems willing to make Girl Scouts better for all the girls who come after her. 

Despite Olive’s drive and composure, she’s still a child– A child being coerced into achieving outrageous results. There’s moments in Cookie Queens where Olive simply imagines spending her weekends with her friends rather than upselling Thin Mints. Her mother comes across as a pusher, always leading Olive toward the next goal with lines like “You’ve already beat your goal of 8,000 boxes. Why not try for 10,000. It’s a nice round number.” It’s hard to watch as Olive seemingly can’t say no to her mother’s pushing. Another core principle of Girl Scouts is that setting goals or making decisions should be Girl-led, something Olive’s mother has forgotten. 

Some of the most moving parts of Cookie Queens is simply capturing the girls being girls. When Ara wants to compose an original piece of music to help her sell cookies, it's as heartwarming as you’d think it is. Girl Scouts isn’t perfect and selling cookies is a challenging task for these girls, but Cookie Queens shows their determination and drive. There are plenty of things to change, but after watching this, I'm hopeful these girls will make it happen sooner than later. [B]