I taught middle school for 43 years and watched as groups of girls developed these cliques. It generally was created by a single girl whose family had money and a boatload of permissiveness. There were the usual toadies, the hangers on, who followed these girls around. They were give their power by the others in the school. This captured a bit of it.

"Lick the Star" is an American 14-minute short film from the year 1998, so this one will have its 20th anniversary soon. The writer and director here is the very young Sofia Coppola (in her 20s, before directing full feature films) and it is a black-and-white movie. Coppola's "Lost in Translation" is an all-time favorite of me (see the name),but I must say I am not really impressed by "Lick the Star". It's a depiction of high school life from the female perspective basically, some intrigues, some fun, some stupidity etc. I did not really care for the girls themselves or for the girls as a group. Sometimes I even struggled to understand who is who as I was not familiar with the actresses. Coppola got Peter Bogdanovich to act in here, most known cast member, and other than him some not too famous actors, some of them family of more known people from film like Coppola herself of course. As a whole, I give this one a thumbs-down. Sadly nothing stands out.

While it's a small film often shown on IFC, "Lick the Star" is an excellent, illuminating film shot in black & white by Lance Acord (who also worked with Coppola in her masterpiece "Lost in Translation" about a young 7th grade queen who becomes outcasted by her peers. Like "Lost in Translation" and "The Virgin Suicides", the theme of disconnection is predominant throughout the whole film. How a young girl is like a snob with all of her friends and one of them turns on her and in the process, things go to hell for the young woman. The film has an excellent soundtrack as well. For those who loved her full-length features, "Lick the Stars" is a must-see for any fan of Sofia Coppola who will be a director that will amaze us all.