First screened publicly in early 2013, the film stars Dakota Fanning and Elizabeth Olsen as two friends who fall for the same man (Boyd Holbrook).

The supporting cast includes Demi Moore, Richard Dreyfuss, Ellen Barkin, Clark Gregg, and Peter Sarsgaard.

At Brighton Beach, they muse about swimming nude before Gerri suddenly takes off her shirt and runs into the water, followed by Lilly.

She takes comfort in spending the evening with Gerri's family, who are loud and open in contrast to Lilly's stony mother and absent father.

They arrive at a basketball court where a stylishly dressed man strips to his underwear and dances ballet liberatingly.

At her father's memorial service, Gerri tells Lilly she lost her virginity to David, prompting her to see her boss and agree to his advances.

Production company Herrick Entertainment announced on July 20, 2012, that principal photography had begun in New York City.

[5] Cast-member Peter Sarsgaard is the son-in-law of writer-director Naomi Foner, who is the mother of his wife, Maggie Gyllenhaal.

In January 2012, Anton Yelchin was in final negotiations to play a role in the film, but he dropped out due to scheduling conflicts and was replaced with Boyd Holbrook.

[7] Variety criticized the "vapid and clichéd" screenplay,[8] while Susan Wloszczyna of RogerEbert.com compared the film negatively to 1980's Little Darlings, which shares a plot element with Very Good Girls.

[9] Bilge Ebiri of Vulture did not find the film's love triangle to be plausible, but stated, "In these and other works, [Naomi] Foner displayed a real feel for the various undercurrents that rage within families, both happy and broken ones.

She understands how irritation can transform into profound need at a moment's notice, as well as how happiness can quickly turn rotten.

"[10] He concluded that "what's actually happening onscreen often feels a lot less interesting than what's clearly boiling beneath the film's surface.