Booksmart is a teen comedy film about best friends Molly (Beanie
Feldstein) and Amy (Kaitlyn Dever), who have spent their entire high school
life focusing on working hard to become more academically successful over their
peers. On the eve of graduation, the two
learned to their shock that, though they got accepted into the prestigious
schools they preferred, so did their less studious, party-loving classmates. Realizing that they may have missed out on having fun in high school, they become determined to spend the night before graduation
to make up for all the partying they didn’t do in the last four years.
As a teen comedy film, Booksmart has all the coming-of-age
tropes, archetypal characters, and bawdy jokes familiarly associated with the
genre. But these are packaged in such a
funny, thoughtful manner that they make the movie come off as overwhelmingly
fresh.
I enjoyed a lot the direction its story went – how that goofy decision of theirs to cram the “high school experience” into one night unfolded hilariously, which in the end yielded life-changing self-reflections, the deepening of their bond as well as the improvement of their view of and relationship with their classmates.
I enjoyed a lot the direction its story went – how that goofy decision of theirs to cram the “high school experience” into one night unfolded hilariously, which in the end yielded life-changing self-reflections, the deepening of their bond as well as the improvement of their view of and relationship with their classmates.
It’s really quite well-written
and well-directed. And thus, commendations
are in order for its screenwriters and director – who, by the way, is Olivia
Wilde, whom every House M.D. fan will
forever remember as Thirteen. What’s
more noteworthy is the fact that this is her first time directing a
feature-length film! She’s definitely up
there with Jordan Peele and John Krasinski in terms of surprising and knocking
it out of the park with helming and crafting a debut film.
I’m also glad to see Kaitlyn
Dever having her first major role outside of Last Man Standing. I’ve always felt she’s the strongest among the
Baxter sisters, and possesses the most potential of making it big in the
future. Although her character here is
more on the meek side – she’s definitely more effective playing snarky
characters like Eve Baxter – her comedic performance is beyond solid
nonetheless.
All in all, Booksmart is a breezy but smart teen comedy film. At the very least, it should make you laugh aplenty
and make you shed a tear or two. And, at
the very most, it can make you mull over the inevitability of change, the
bittersweetness of the human experience, and the value of becoming less
self-absorbed and paying more attention to others.
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