Booksmart marks the directorial debut of Olivia Wilde, who takes the manic energy of raunchy high school comedies such as Superbad and Fast Times at Ridgemont High and combines it with the sweet, mature tone of coming-of-age dramedies such as Lady Bird, Eighth Grade, and Mid90s. The film even follows some similar narrative beats as Superbad, revolving around two hard-working but unpopular prestigious students named Amy (Kaitlyn Dever) and Molly (Beanie Feldstein) who are on their last day of senior year of high school, and decide to go out for one night of partying after years of never doing so, leading them to a series of bizarre, wild events as they also aim to gain the affections of their respective long-time crushes.
Though that’s about where the similarities with Superbad end. While Superbad - which was a very funny movie with some likable leads - was more of just a raunchy joke-fest, Booksmart contains all of that while still telling a story that’s both sweet and relatable. The film hones in much more on the friendship aspect, and the pains of separating from close friends as everyone goes on to live different lives. There’s a persistent underlying fear that goes through each of these characters’ heads that makes nearly everyone who watches this instantly connect with them.
Strong, relatable characters is easily one of this film’s biggest strong suits. While the adult characters are more just fun, quick cameos - including Jessica Williams, Jason Sudeikis, Lisa Kudrow, and Will Forte, all of whom get in some fantastic lines in their brief times on screen - nearly all the students have a three-dimensional personality that makes them a joy to watch. This is especially prominent when it comes to the female characters. This is very much a feminist movie, similar to Netflix’s just-released The Perfection, another well-done movie with strong female characters. Many of the jokes and plot points revolve around Amy and Molly’s love for strong female figures in history, constantly citing them as references when faced with exploring new opportunities, which make for both emotional and truly funny moments.
Though moments like these aren’t just one-note gimmicks, and they’re used to flesh characters out and break down stereotypes. It’s honestly refreshing seeing movies such as this where longtime stereotypes get turned upside their head. Even down to the supporting cast are there some exceptional standouts, including newcomers such as Diana Silvers as Hope, who’s viewed as the typical sarcastic, mean bully but actually has much more depth to her, as well as Molly Gordon as “Triple A,” a girl who’s exceptionally smart but is only known for her promiscuity, and winds up in a heartfelt conversation about her situation at one point.
Even when the film isn’t directly breaking down stereotypes, it maintains this overall progressive feel. At the center of its story is Amy, a lesbian who’s already come out years before the movie begins and is already accepted as such by her family and other members of the class, and she’s not even the only LGBT member of the class. Unlike many other high school movies, this showcases a very diverse group of characters who all seamlessly come together, rather than butt heads due to discrimination. Even when it comes to the film’s jokes, as raunchy as they can be, they weave in dialogue and phrases that feels more akin to today’s political climate that make it timely and still feel very natural.
And when it comes to the jokes, this film is very funny. Much of the film’s humor is dialogue-based and the fast-paced exchanges between all of these characters is hilarious. Feldstein and Dever make for an exceptionally funny comedy duo, with Dever acting as the straight-faced rational counterpoint to Feldstein’s wild, over-the-top schemes. Even when the film resorts to visual gags, outside of a stop-motion sequence where the two are hallucinating on drugs - which is honestly the only weak point in the movie - they still feel more in line with gags and pranks that actual high-schoolers would go through, rather than cheap physical pratfalls. There’s a scene in which the two attempt to hijack a pizza delivery man, using their hair as faux masks, which is funny not just for how ridiculous they look, but just for how there’s still this sense of innocence, that they’re coming from real high-school students.
While much of the film feels in the vein of Superbad, it turns towards much more dramatic territory in the final act, and the shift is handled exceptionally well. The film doesn't totally lose its comedic feel, still getting in some quick subtle jokes where it can. Though it’s in these moments where the pains of high school and the troubles of growing up really come out in the forefront, and is where the movie feels at its most painstakingly realistic. It also contains the film’s most well-shot moment, which involves an argument where the audio fades out as the dialogue begins to intensify, leading the audience to only piece the rest of it together through the actors’ vivid facial expressions.
Booksmart is easily one of the year's biggest highlights so far. It’s a film that takes many tropes associated with high school movies and coming-of-age comedies, and breaks them down so that the audience is left with much stronger, more realistic characters. It’s an incredibly funny movie, filled with a wonderfully talented cast, who all share some fantastic chemistry with one another. And it's also a movie that captures struggles that nearly all of who have watched it will relate to in some form or another, giving it plenty of rewatch value for years to come. One of the year’s must-see movies.
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