‘Turtles All the Way Down’ Star Cree Steals Every Scene as the Hilarious BFF

There’s a lot to love about the latest tear-jerker John Green movie, Turtles All the Way Down—which began streaming on Max last week—but for me, the stand-out was Cree Cicchino, aka the actor who plays the protagonist’s supportive best friend, Daisy.

Based on Green’s 2017 novel of the same name, and directed by Hannah Marks, Turtles All the Way Down stars Isabela Merced as a 16-year-ol named Aza, who struggles with obsessive-compulsive disorder. Aza’s outgoing best friend, Daisy, knows all about Aza’s “thought spirals.” Not only is Daisy understanding, she goes out of her way to push Aza to enjoy normal teenage things, like dating and boys. The “supportive BFF” character can sometimes be a thankless, one-dimensional role. It’s a character designed to enrich the protagonist’s world, not the other way around. But thanks to a stand-out performance from Cicchino—or simply “Cree,” as she is credited on the film—Daisy becomes the most dynamic character in the movie.

As Daisy, Cree is confident, blunt, and hilarious. She rocks pink streaks in her hair and Billie Eilish-inspired emo outfits. She loves Star Wars and will talk to anyone who’ll listen about her popular fanfiction. (Back in my day, no one would dream of admitting to the deeply uncool sin of writing fanfiction. These kids don’t know how good they have it!) She works a minimum wage job at a “Kid Zone,” and spends her lunch breaks at Applebees with Aza, lamenting the indignity she’s forced to endure.

“I am currently washing ball pit balls for $8.40 an hour. Do you know what I’m washing off the balls? Do you? It’s pee. It’s pee, Aza. Pee-pee.”

It was Cree’s flawless delivery of that line that had me pausing the movie, just so I could look up who, exactly, this hilarious girl was.

In fact, Cree—who is 21 and originally from Queens, New York—has been acting since she was 13, when she was cast as Babe in the Dan Schneider-created Nickelodeon comedy, Game Shakers, which ran from 2015 to 2019. From there, Cree starred in the Netflix sitcom Mr. Iglesias, landed a recurring role on the Sex and the City spin-off And Just Like That…, and appeared in the David E. Kelley series Big Sky.

But Turtles All the Way Down feels like a breakout for Cree in the same way Lady Bird was for Beanie Feldstein. Whenever she’s on screen, she commands your attention. Credit, too, goes to Merced for her stellar performance as Aza. The easy, playful chemistry between the two lead actresses serves as the movie’s heart, and elevates the familiar coming-of-age tropes. The face Cree makes when her on-screen best friend brings Harry Potter into a conversation about Star Wars? Priceless. That level of pure indignation is an art form.

Hopefully, this is just the beginning of a long career for Cree. Hollywood, give this girl a comedy to lead. She deserves her own Booksmart.