Booksmart

A teen comedy that follows in the footsteps of classics like Clueless and Easy A by being funny and genuine enough to appeal to viewers of all ages.

Premise: Molly (Beanie Feldstein) and Amy (Kaitlyn Dever) are two high school seniors about to graduate after having steadfastly focused on nothing but their studies for years.  But when they learn that their classmates have all got into prestigious colleges and found time to party, Molly and Amy set out to cram an entire lifetime’s worth of fun into their last night before graduation.

Review:

Broadly speaking, teen comedies essentially fall into two categories.  On the one hand, you have the raucous (usually sex-centric) teen comedies (like American Pie, Road Trip and the like), which more often than not, primarily appeal to the teen demographic.  Then on the other hand, you have the coming-of-age, more introspective, teen comedies (like The Breakfast Club, Clueless and Easy A), which deal with teenage awkwardness in a brutally honest and relatable – but still very funny – way.  Booksmart definitely fits into the latter category.

“…the friendship between Molly & Amy feels really authentic…”

The two leads are both great – Beanie Feldstein and Kaitlyn Dever had the chance to live together for two months before filming began, and as a result, the friendship between Molly and Amy feels really authentic.  The characters have their own shorthand, there’s a natural ease to their back-and-forths, and they can say so much to each other with just a look.  In many ways, the film is really about their lifelong friendship and the looming prospect of them going their separate ways after graduation, as much as it is about anything else.

As great as Beanie Feldstein and Kaitlyn Dever are, the supporting cast are also an absolute joy.  Billie Lourd in particular is great as the slightly otherworldly Gigi, while Molly Gordon and Skyler Gisondo also make a real impression with their characters.  And without giving too much away, the whole film has a very Breakfast-Club-esque vibe with its theme that High School is hell for pretty much everyone, and most people are too wrapped up dealing with their own messes to look any deeper than the surface of anyone else’s stereotype.

“…smart without being cold, heartfelt without being mawkish…”

The young cast are supported by a whole heap of cameos from talented adult comedians – including Lisa Kudrow and Will Forte as Amy’s parents, Jason Sudeikis as the high school principal, and Jessica Williams as their favourite teacher.  Making her debut as a feature director, Olivia Wilde does a fantastic job of balancing the comedy with the emotionally elements, and the collaborative approach that she took with Beanie Feldstein and Kaitlyn Dever is one of the main reasons why the dialogue feels so authentic and the friendship feels so believable.

Overall, Booksmart manages to find a fresh take on the teen comedy genre – it’s smart without being cold, heartfelt without being mawkish, and inclusive without making a big show of it.  Combining intelligent jokes with laugh-out-loud gags, wrapped in relatable coming-of-age story and powered by the chemistry between the two leads, Booksmart is certainly one of the most original comedies of recent years.