Booksmart could be a new classic for the next generation. Think Clueless, 10 Things I Hate About You or Easy A for the kids of the late 2010s. For Olivia Wilde’s directorial debut, it’s funny and refreshing with realistic characters and the typical cheesy heart-warming ending that just adds the cherry on top of the teen movie sundae. The advertising for Booksmart has missed the mark and if you walk into the cinema expecting the next Superbad you’re going to be disappointed; Booksmart is not really a party film, it’s a coming-of-age film to represent this generation.
Booksmart is the story of Class President and Valedictorian Molly (Beanie Feldstein) and her feminist gay best friend Amy (Kaitlyn Dever) who spent their high school years working hard and studying harder to make sure they do better than the rest of their grade and get into prestigious universities. However, when Molly finds out that the party kids with bad reputations also got into high-end universities or have already received job offers, she worries that her and Amy have wasted their high school years and need to go to an end-of-year party to make up for their missed memories.
There are so many things I loved about Booksmart that I could talk for days, but I’ll try really hard to be succinct. Firstly, and most prominently, this movie is just out here breaking down stereotypes. Between the popular, party kids who actually studied hard and earned their spots in universities to the exploration of sexuality between both Amy and her crush, Booksmart really does explore the ‘don’t judge a book by it’s cover’ cliché. It’s really refreshing that the main characters are the ones guilty of misunderstanding their classmates and it flips the script of typical teen movies where the ‘popular crowd’ are seen as bad people with literally no redeeming qualities, for example, The Duff (spoiler, you might actually like the ‘popular kids’ in this one).
Booksmart also gets an A+ for the cast; there’s a few familiar faces including Molly Gordon who’s been nicknamed ‘Triple-A’ (Life of the Party), Noah Galvin the drama kid organising “Shakespeare in the Park-ing Lot” over the Summer (The Real O’Neals) and personal favourite Skyler Gisondo as the outrageous and hilarious Jared (Santa Clarita Diet). There were also quite a few new faces who I think have potential to do great things, including Billie Lourd (yeah, Carrie Fisher’s daughter) playing the elusive and wild party girl Gigi, and Diana Silvers as cool girl Hope.
Another thing I loved about Booksmart is the really casual LGBT+ representation. I remember reading somewhere that Amy’s character is living the story of what happens after the ‘big coming out’ that so many LGBT+ coming-of-age movies focus on. Amy is just out here living her best gay life, able to talk casually about her crushes while her parents work really hard to be accepting and understanding. The only intimate scene in the film is between two girls and it has the typical vibe of the awkward first time in any other teen movie. Besides Amy, the film also includes some male LGBT+ characters including two drama guys who host a murder mystery party where one of them dresses as a female character, complete with glittery dress and heels, and no one bats an eye.
Overall, Booksmart is a modern and refreshingly realistic teen coming-of-age film. It’s funny, it’s honest, it’s filled with an incredible cast, and it has good morals about making sure you have fun in life and giving others a chance. I cannot wait to watch it again and I cannot wait to see what all of the cast and crew do next.
Score: 5/5