Review: Booksmart

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Work hard, play hard.

Amy (Katilyn Dever) and Molly (Beanie Feldstein) have spent their entire school years studying to get into good colleges and never going out and partying like their classmates. On the last day of school, they find out that plenty of their classmates that did party all got into good schools or got good jobs right out of college anyways. Determined to make up for lost time, they decide to party hard on their last night as high schoolers. 

When I first started seeing advertising for this movie I didn't like how it kept getting compared to Superbad. Sure, it's about kids partying towards the end of school but it seemed different enough. After watching, it actually takes a few things beat for beat from Superbad so the comparisons are warranted. Thankfully it doesn't make it any less enjoyable. 

The strongest thing in Booksmart is the friendship between Molly and Amy. Of course like any teen movie, they will momentarily have some trouble but it's nice seeing a female friendship like this on screen. Dever and Feldstein have excellent chemistry too. Director Olivia Wilde shows a lot of promise behind the camera too as we follow them on their adventures.

Where the film isn't at its best for me are the supporting characters. The one teacher we get to know, Ms. Fine (Jessica Williams) gets completely wasted on a dumb arrested development type arc and while I liked a lot of the supporting students, like Billie Lourd's Gigi, the two over the top theater kids felt like massive stereotypes.   

Overall Booksmart is a fun film that's currently being buried by tentpoles at the box office, but that I think will have a huge following eventually. 

Recommended: Yes

Grade: B

Memorable quote: "I'm incredible at hand-jobs but I also got a 1560 on the SATs." - Annabelle (Molly Gordon)

Comments

  1. s.June 1, 2019 at 7:03 AM

    I just watched it and between this and Eight Grade I am convinced social media will shape the current youths into some real morons lol And this wasn't nearly as funny or memorable as Superbad, I didn't laugh once while during Superbad I was fighting for breath lol

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Brittani BurnhamJune 1, 2019 at 7:46 AM

      I laughed quite a bit, but it's not as funny as Superbad. I'm older watching this now obviously so maybe that plays into it, but I think Superbad had a better hold on its secondary characters too whereas this didn't

      Delete
  2. Sonia CercaJune 1, 2019 at 7:08 AM

    I know right? Williams’s character development was so disappointing! And it bothered me a lot that the gay guys were nothing but stereotypes. The comedy didn’t always work for me but the film overall wasn’t bad. Nice review!

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Brittani BurnhamJune 1, 2019 at 7:46 AM

      Yes! The two guy kids served no purpose other than to make gay theater jokes and that rubbed me the wrong way, and they wasted a cool teacher.

      Delete
  3. ElinaJune 1, 2019 at 8:59 AM

    Ah I wasn't thinking about any of this and I definitely agree with the stereotyping wrecking some characters/storylines. I've never seen Superbad, should I? I found this so funny, very intriguing to hear of a film that tops that and is similar.

    ReplyDelete
  4. KatyJune 1, 2019 at 12:32 PM

    Nice review! The theatre kids in the movie reminded me a lot of some theatre kids I knew in college a few years ago, so the stereotypes were cliche but also relateable. But overall I thought this funny too. Loved the dynamics between the girls.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Brittani BurnhamJune 1, 2019 at 2:55 PM

      For me it was just too over the top. I never knew anyone like that in high school, college for sure though.

      Delete
  5. thevoid99June 1, 2019 at 2:26 PM

    I do want to see this though I'm not sure when but I really want to just to show my support for the ladies and for films about teenage women shown in a positive light.

    ReplyDelete
  6. Often Off TopicJune 3, 2019 at 9:49 AM

    I love this movie so much but it's been advertised so badly in the UK. I think you're right though, in a few years it'll be much better known as word of mouth spreads :)

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Brittani BurnhamJune 3, 2019 at 12:03 PM

      The advertising seems to inconsistent. I saw ads for it all the time here, but others reported none. They should've done a better job.

      Delete
  7. The Wiggles (@TheWiggles)June 4, 2019 at 4:19 AM

    We can’t wait to see your review on Party Time, The album’s coming out on the 21st.

    ReplyDelete

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