‘Edie Arnold is a Loser’ review: Imagine ‘Juno’ with punk rock and Catholic guilt

Film festivals are rich ground for brilliant cinematic discoveries, and among the finest and most fun discoveries at SXSW 2026 is Edie Arnold is a loser. The first feature film from Megan Rico and Kade Atwood, this coming-of-age comedy is as hilarious as it is chaotic and devilishly iconoclastic.

As Juno, This fresh and funny film focuses on a high school weirdo who takes an unconventional path to find her happiness. Now, Edie Arnold (Adi Madden Cabrera) does not get pregnant outside of marriage. Sure, the sullen nuns at her all-girls Catholic school consider Edie an underachieving delinquent, but she doesn’t drink and celibacy is practically the only extracurricular activity she succeeds in — but not by choice. Like her classmates, she lusts after the only boy in their orbit, altar boy Walter Boyd (Lucas Van Orden), described by Edie’s friends as “like Jesus’ hottest younger brother, who was too hot to die.” But to him, she’s invisible… until she randomly starts a punk band called The Nundead.

Thus begins a wild adventure of self-discovery, friendship, awkward flirtations and punk rock.

Edie Arnold is a loser intelligently explores identity through crushes.

Credit: Courtesy of Infigo Films

From the start, co-director and writer Megan Rico puts a strong stamp on her coming-of-age comedy, just as Diablo Cody did with Juno. It’s not that Edie and her peers speak with the verbal panache and quirky, seductive slang of Juno and her peers. That’s because Edie and her best friend Frances (a brilliantly broad McKenna Tuckett) are hilarious and irreverent in their mercurial rebellions. When a young new nun named Sister Sheena (Luseane Pasa) attempts to shape the cacophony of a girls’ choir, Frances and Edie take the opportunity to goof off with a violent mime. They imagine their eyes sticking out or being attacked, implying that it’s less torturous than playing the organ and percussion for this godless choir. Rico and Atwood add some spice to this scene by covering scribbled graphics that depict blood, slime, darts, and electric jolts, emphasizing the courage of these irrepressible girls.

The nuns who run the school demand that these girls be composed, polite and obedient. Edie’s serious mother (Cherish Rodriguez), always desperate to impress, constantly pesters her to be more feminine and gentle. Then there’s the vicious queen bee Kati Vidal (Alana Mei Kern), who takes every opportunity to embarrass Edie, like when Kati attaches tampons to Edie’s hair without her knowledge. (“I got drunk!” Edie moans over lunch with her four loser friends, destined to be Nundeads.) But whatever hell awaits her, Frances – whose aggressive headgear matches her pugnacious energy – catches up with her. Together, they sneak into a local punk show, where Edie makes a big impression, leading the girls to form a band and bringing a cute young punk named Iggy (Gabe Root) into their orbit.

While Frances devotes herself to raising hell and having fun, Edie grapples with the question of who she will choose to be. Two distinct journeys are presented through two very different boys. One of them is Walter Boyd, who seems religious and respectable, but secretly drinks communion wine and has less holy ideas about sex than thou doest. The other is Iggy, who has a punk aesthetic that might scare Edie’s mother, but a punk soul that mirrors her own. And yet, Edie Arnold is a loser It doesn’t really concern boys. It’s about girls who write crazy songs with lyrics like, “Cannibalize your lord and savior. Eat me! Eat me! EAT ME!”

Edie Arnold is a loser is a sensational buddy comedy.

Credit: Courtesy of Infigo Films

Having been a loser in a Catholic high school myself, it was easy to see myself in Edie (even though I was never cool enough to start a band or learn the drums). Cabrera perfectly grounds Edie’s adolescent angst, her petty rebellions, and her awkward desire for such an existence. But she’s at her best when she and Tuckett are happily combative.

Too often overlooked in movies about sisterhood are the scathing jokes that you can only shoot girls who know you better than your own blood. So whether Edie and Frances are joking or arguing, it’s very clear what they mean to each other. And yes, even when a furious Frances improvises a dissident piece about Edie, the love is clear, the loyalty unquestionable.

Cabrera takes on this chaotic coming-of-age story with aplomb. Its supporting cast shines with an array of jerks, sluts, and bozos (with the exception of the truly splendid sister Sheena). But newcomer McKenna Tuckett stands out. As Frances, she exudes a mischievously wild energy, reminiscent of Beanie Feldstein’s theater-loving kid in Lady Bird or the arrogant Jack Black in High fidelity. Frances doesn’t give a damn about being cool; she brandishes her headgear like a bull’s horns, a threat to those who do not realize that she is not to be disturbed. She’s the wild card who pushes Edie when she needs a good push (whether on stage or to stand up to her mother). And together they spend a day with Romy and Michelle, in the sense that their movie might have a subplot about boys and crushes, but ultimately it’s really about their bond. And how bizarre, beautiful and divine.

Simply put, this indie coming-of-age comedy is sensational. Edie Arnold is a loser is unapologetically outrageous, touching and genuinely funny. Seek it out and embrace your inner loser.

Edie Arnold is a loser was reviewed at the 2026 SXSW Film Festival.