“Adulthood is where dreams go to die“, Sophia Marlowe declares in the series premiere of Netflix original “Girlboss”. Edgy, abrasive, brazen, the series is about a lost 23-year-old who had no idea what her talents were, before stumbling across an East West calfskin jacket for $9 in a local vintage shop. “Know what you s— is worth. You just got played” Sophia tells the vintage shop owner, before flipping the jacket on eBay for $600.
“Girlboss” is inspired by the best-selling memoir of the same name, by real-life rags-to-riches mogul, Sophia Amoruso. The series is a “real loose” telling of how the Nasty Gal entrepreneur built a clothing empire, worth $300 million in sales, from nothing. The 13-episode dramedy was created by screenwriter, Kay Cannon (Pitch Perfect), along with Amoruso herself, and Charlize Theron as executive producers.
Sophia is a strong, sassy, savvy hustler, who doesn’t care if she is likable or not. We are introduced to Sophia as a dumpster diving, shoplifting, entitled, and narcissistic millennial. Despite this, you can’t but help root for Sophia’s success throughout the series. As “Girlboss” progresses, Sophia recognises the error of her “garbage person” ways, both leading her on the path to grow as a person, and to further her success.
“I am girl, and that shouldn’t be a bad thing. Girls are collaborative, empathetic, hard workers” Sophia declares decisively, when facing sexism while looking to lease a property to run Nasty Gal from. Sophia is passionate, driven, weird, and flawed. “Girlboss” presents a real life narrative of the ups and downs of a young girl who dared to do something larger in life – in all its messy, screwing up every step of the way, bumps-in-the-road, glory! Sophia has no idea how to run a business, but her headstrong determination, tenacious attitude, and supportive friends, help her launch her eBay store into a thriving lifestyle industry.
Amoruso says “Success is about trusting your instincts and following your gut, knowing which rules to follow and which to break“. Overall, there are valuable lessons that are derived from the series. Persistence is essential; the path to success is flawed and bumpy; mistakes are a normal part of the journey, therefore should not be a taken as a deterrence.
Rating: 4/5
Your review made me even more intrigued in the show than I already was! I can’t wait to watch it over the mid-year break 🙂
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