Booksmart (2019) Annapurna/Comedy RT: 102 minutes Rated R (strong sexual content and language throughout, drug use and drinking- all involving teens) Director: Olivia Wilde Screenplay: Emily Halpern, Sarah Haskins, Susanna Fogel and Katie Silberman Music: Dan the Automator Cinematography: Jason McCormick Release date: May 24, 2019 (US) Cast: Kaitlyn Dever, Beanie Feldstein, Jessica Williams, Victoria Ruesga, Mason Gooding, Skyler Gisondo, Diana Silvers, Molly Gordon, Billie Lourd, Eduardo Franco, Nico Hiraga, Noah Galvin, Austin Crute, Jason Sudeikis, Lisa Kudrow, Will Forte, Mike O’Brien. Box Office: $22.7M (US)/$24.9M (World)
Rating: *** ½
I always did like a good all-nighter teen comedy. Off the top of my head, my faves are American Graffiti, Sixteen Candles, Dazed and Confused and Can’t Hardly Wait. I’ll even give props to 1987’s The Allnighter starring Bangles lead singer Susanna Hoffs. In the grand tradition of those great and funny movies comes Booksmart, best described as a female-driven take on Superbad (another great all-nighter!).
Now they say first impressions aren’t always accurate and never has it been truer than it is here. Sitting there in the theater, I let out a heavy sigh when it looked like Booksmart was going to be yet another crude, unfunny teen comedy filled with obnoxious characters. It starts out that way. Then a strange thing happened. As the movie progressed, my impression of the supporting characters changed just as it did for the two protagonists, Molly (Feldstein, Lady Bird) and Amy (Dever, Short Term 12). I’m as shocked as you are; this almost never happens to Movie Guy.
Overachieving best friends Molly and Amy have spent their entire high school careers focusing on their studies in order to get into good colleges. They never once went to a party or broke a single rule. It paid off. They’re both off to prestigious universities in the fall. The problem is their classmates who, despite all their partying and wild antics, got into good schools as well. When Molly and Amy sit down and evaluate the situation, they realize they missed out on a lot of fun. They decide on this, the night before their graduation (Molly is class valedictorian, btw), to make up for lost time. This entails attending a party thrown by a classmate, Nick (Gooding), who Molly has a crush on. Just one thing, they don’t have an address on its location. They spend most of the night trying to get to this party at which Amy hopes to speak to her crush, a skater girl named Ryan (Ruesga).
Regarding the supporting characters, they initially look like idiots. It’s the last day of school and they’re going wild in the halls. Of course, Molly and Amy disapprove. Even on the last day, they’re business as usual much to the annoyance of the principal (Sudeikis, Horrible Bosses) who wishes they’d just go away and get on with their lives. They spent all four years looking down on their peers. It’s Molly who gets a rude awakening when a group of so-called slackers calls her out on her BS. As the night goes on, Molly learns there’s more to her classmates than she thought like the obnoxious rich guy (Gisondo, 2015’s Vacation reboot) with a ride to match his personality or the girl (Gordon, Life of the Party) they refer to as “Triple A” (for rendering “roadside assistance” to guys in cars). Maybe the rumors about her aren’t true after all. Some of them, like the rich crazy girl (Lourd, AHS: Apocalypse) with the mysterious ability to pop up anywhere, are quite likable. As I got to know some of these kids a little better, I began to really enjoy Booksmart.
Booksmart marks the debut of actress Olivia Wilde (TRON: Legacy) making her first feature film. It’s as assured and confident a debut as I’ve ever seen from an actor. She crushes it! For starters, it’s actually funny thanks to a witty, intelligent script by Emily Halpern, Sarah Haskins, Susanna Fogel and Katie Silberman. Usually when you see this many writers on a movie, it’s cause for worry. Not this time. The contributions made by each writer complement each other. It helps that Wilde gave her actors free reign to develop their own characters as they saw fit. The end result is a teen comedy with plenty of laughs derived from misadventures, good lines and sight gags- e.g. check out the license plate on rich guy’s car.
Feldstein and Dever are brilliant as Molly and Amy. We get a sense of their close friendship that comes with the way they rib each other and speak a shared language only they understand. When one wants a big favor from the other, all she has to do is say the magic word “Malala”. Molly is the brash, outspoken one while Amy is meeker and more reticent. She can’t even work up the nerve to talk to a girl she likes. She’s been out for two years and still hasn’t been with anybody. Molly is the one who pushes Amy to do things she doesn’t want to do. Little does Molly know that Amy is keeping a secret about her future plans. The two actresses work off each other beautifully.
Booksmart is even good on a technical level. The cinematography and editing are top-notch. I guess the soundtrack is fine; I don’t know too much about today’s pop music. My only complaint is that I found Ruesga somewhat annoying but she does factor into one of the movie’s best scenes. She and Amy have a beautiful moment during a karaoke session at a party (the song of choice, Alanis Morissette’s “You Oughta Know”). Aside from that considerably minor glitch, Booksmart is pretty great. There’s a hilariously bizarre drug hallucination scene involving stop-motion animation. Mike O’Brien is funny as a creepy pizza delivery guy. Will Forte (SNL) and Lisa Kudrow (Friends) have two scenes, one of them riotous, as Amy’s supportive parents.
It’s rare when all the elements of a movie come together so well. This anomaly is on full display in Booksmart, the smartest, funniest teen comedy of the summer (so far).
