There are two distinct variables that differentiate Booksmart from the stereotypical teen/high-school comedy. While I suppose it’s noteworthy that this Olivia Wilde-directed comic caper concerns the end-of-high-school hijinks of two teen girls instead of teen boys, that’s only part of what distinguishes the picture. First, while it does indeed focus on Amy (Kaitlyn Dever) and Molly (Beanie Feldstein), at no point is this underlined or highlighted as a reason to give the bawdy comedy any extra credit.
It is just expected to be taken at face value, no different than the likes of (offhand) Superbad or Project X. For that matter, alongside the likes of Easy A, Blockers, The Do-List List, Lady Bird or The Edge of Seventeen (all of which are terrific), Booksmart doesn’t try to position itself as exceptional just because it’s about horny young women instead of horny young men. I’d argue that high school comedies about girls outnumber the ones about boys, but I digress.
That even extends to its treatment of LGBTQIA-related content. As we learn almost immediately, one half of this duo is an out-and-proud lesbian. That character trait is only an issue in that she must work up the courage to flirt with a fellow classmate (played with daffy offhandedness by Victoria Ruesga). And that plays into the other truly special thing about Booksmart.
No spoilers, but nearly every single character in the film is at least somewhat intelligent and exceptionally nice or helpful. There are no villains, dumb jocks, stereotypical mean girls, snotty rich kids or hostile bullies. Rather than pitting our heroines against classmates who are adversarial or must be taken down a peg, the comedy works despite an almost complete lack of conventional conflict.
If anything, some of the second act drama (relatively speaking) comes as a result of aggressive kindness. That goes to the core of the film, which concerns two high-achieving high school girls who realize that they spent all their time studying and never got to have any fun. More importantly, the stereotypical “fun” kids also managed to academically excel as well, meaning they essentially crammed their way through high school for “nothing.”
So, Amy and Molly decide to try to cram as much conventional high school fun into one night as possible. I’m not going to sit here and list all the best jokes or the broad set-ups. No spoilers, but I will note that much of the film sees our heroines realizing that they aren’t remotely superior to the kids whom they thought they were surpassing.
Watching the film, penned by (deep breath) Emily Halpern, Sarah Haskins, Susanna Fogel and Katie Silberman, try to offer a thoughtful and comedically clever adventure even while positioning every single character, kids and adults, as supportive, nurturing and helpful, is something of a kick. In fact, some of the humor stems from aggressive helpfulness, while frankly much of the rest comes from surprising decency.
Whether it’s Nick, Molly’s jock crush (Mason Gooding) expressing an interest in similar nerd/geek IP or an understandably cranky pizza delivery driver (Mike O’Brien, almost stealing the movie in a single sequence) genuinely concerned about these two young girls running around in the middle of the night, the movie uses open-hearted world-weariness as a comedic tool rather than an obstacle to be overcome. More scenes are stolen by Jason Sudeikis as the school principal and Billie Lourd as a drug-crazed weirdo with apparent powers of teleportation (the film’s big drug freak-out is a genuine hoot) among others.
Shot by Jason McCormick and edited by Jamie Gross, the film has a dry authenticity, not least of which because it’s set in the present day. The film isn’t intended to be a cinematic knockout, but it’s a successful happy medium between mainstream studio comedy and slightly grittier indie fare. It works as both a bawdy farce and a poignant character piece about two academic all-stars who realized that they may have cheated themselves via their mistaken opinions of their peers.
Booksmart is very smart and very sweet while also being very smart about sweetness. And yes, it offers its own variations on classic joke tropes and high school comedies that earn real laughs without betraying its core values. Opening in theaters on Thursday night via Annapurna Pictures and United Artists Releasing, it’s a clear a “put your money where your mouth is” offering that deserves your time and your currency.
