Review: Booksmart (2019)

Booksmart (2019)

Booksmart is an interesting film as it is not altogether different from many of the teen comedies/coming-of-age films we have seen over the past 10-15 years, however, it takes that proven formula and updates it to meet many of the progressive outlooks that our world (or, at least, the liberal parts of it) now enshrine. Don't get me wrong, the film is very well-made - it is well directed (by first-time director, Olivia Wilde), well written, well acted and very funny - however, much of the humour has been seen before and the film plays out not altogether dissimilar to a female version of Superbad.

The film is built upon an excellent and topical premise wherein the protagonists, Molly (Beanie Feldstein) and Amy (Kaitlyn Dever) are two high-schoolers who are academically-driven to the point that they look down upon and snub their fellow classmates. In their minds, they do this for good reason as they are ensuring their own future successes, such as getting into the best colleges. However, on the day before graduation they learn a devastating realization, which is that many of their classmates - the supposed jocks, stoners and blowhards - have all lined up equally impressive next-steps for themselves too. This news sends Molly and Amy into a tail-spin and they decide that they need to make up for all the time they have wasted in not having fun through their high school days. The premise is excellent, however, the truth is, what follows plot-wise is a relatively conventional teen comedy of two best friends attempting to get to a party, getting themselves into sticky situations, and everyone ending up with profound discoveries about their own character/identity as well as that of their friends.

Again, it is difficult to fault this film as it seemingly plays out exactly as it set out to do. I do wish though that the film slowed down at a few points to let moments play out, which may have provided a little more depth and lasting profoundness to the story. The film is very fast-moving - both in story and in pacing/editing. One thing that I did find obnoxious after a bit was the heavy and repetitive use/reliance on music (mostly pumping RnB tunes) to set a cool tone to the film. There are a noticeably large amount of small transitional scenes of the two girls walking, with time slowing down slightly and loud music playing, that is there for no other reason than to show that the girls are in transit and to try to make this very-much utilitarian plot-point look cooler than it is. With regards to the mentioned progressiveness of the film, it is the portrayals of gender, sexual orientation and race throughout the film that are all well-represented in a very 21st century way. Interestingly, a number of these facets were not present in the original screenplay (which began circulating in 2009) but were only added in during the re-writes by subsequent writers (the original story centred on the girls trying to find boyfriends for the prom; Amy in the version was (clearly) not gay). It is quite telling that large studios such as Gloria Sanchez Productions (the sister production company to Will Ferrell/Adam McKay's Gary Sancez Prod.) would hop on a film with such content as this. Overall, Booksmart is an excellent film that will scratch that persisting itch that we have had for a while for a great, over-the-top funny and topical comedy film.

Note: Gigi (Billie Lourd (daughter of Carrie Fisher)) and Jared (Skyler Gisondo) both are standouts in the film.