“Booksmart” is
raunchy, progressive, and funny. What more could you want in a
comedy? Olivia Wilde, making her feature film directorial debut,
imbues the film with equal parts heart and weirdness that makes it
standout among raunchy teen sex comedies. The movie follows two
straight-laced best friends on the eve of their high school
graduation. When they realize that even their wild troublemaker
classmates also got into ivy league schools they figure it’s time
to let loose a little. A chaotic night of debauchery coalesces into a
series of wacky misadventures as they attempt to locate the wild
party being thrown by a classmate. “Booksmart” doesn’t
necessarily reinvent the genre but certainly takes a fresh approach
with equal doses of heart and hilarity.
“Booksmart” is
not unlike the 2007 teen comedy “Superbad” in which three teen
boys attempt to fit in by attending a wild house party. They
certainly share the same DNA: Jonah Hill’s younger sister Beanie
Feldstein stars here as the straitlaced Molly. And her equally
prudish best friend Amy is played by Kaitlyn Dever. Molly is headed
to Yale in the fall, and Amy is heading to Botswana for the summer
for volunteer work. Amy had previously come out as a lesbian and has
a crush on a skater girl named Ryan. After being teasing in the
bathroom, Molly confronts her tormentors and tells them she’s going
places because she got into a good college. But they inform her that
they’re also going to good schools. And suddenly Molly has a
revelation. Those kids partied in high school but also got
into college. She makes it her mission to spend the night before
graduation making up for all the fun stuff she missed out on while in
high school. Amy is reluctant but goes along with it. Hilarity
ensues.
The raunchy
coming-of-age teen comedy is nothing new, but “Booksmart” feels
special. The two female leads are, first of all, extremely likable
and funny. I’m sure we can thank divine intervention for getting
these two actresses onscreen together. You sense the lifelong
friendship these characters have and you root for them. The fact one
of them is gay and doesn’t necessarily conform to stereotypes is a
pretty wild concept for a mainstream film about teenagers. The entire
film is filled with diverse types of people. And everyone has a
moment to shine including a scene-stealing Billie Lourd as Amy and
Molly’s bizarre classmate Gigi who happens to pop up throughout the
entire film.
The film is also
refreshing because for once, it’s a movie about teenage girls whose
plot isn’t driven by their need to be with a boy. There are love
interests involved, yes, but that’s not what drives these
characters. The film’s script comes from the minds of four genius
women: Susanna Fogel, Emily Halpern, Sarah Haskins, and Katie
Silberman. Their script is zany, emotional, funny, and most of all
relatable. Wilde’s direction is gorgeous. One sequence set
underwater in a pool is beautifully shot (as is the rest of the film)
and it’s when I had an epiphany: that in a perfect world a film
like “Booksmart” would be getting serious Oscar attention come
the fall.
There’s always one
great indie comedy that comes out every summer as perfect
counter-programming to the loud, CGI spectacles that usually fill the
multiplex. This is that movie. “Booksmart” is fresh and fun and
has set a new standard for coming-of-age teen comedies. GRADE: A
