Booksmart

          Molly and Amy are about to graduate from high school with 4.0 GPA's and acceptances to ivy league schools. Molly is the Class President and Valedictorian and feels satisfied with her and Amy's choice to focus only on school and not slack around. Molly then learns on the last day of regular school that many of her high energy peers were also accepted into ivy league universities. This frustrates her and leads her to believe that she has wasted her entire high school experience. Her and Amy, the night before graduation, decide to spend there last high school night at a party being thrown by the Class Vice President. Many things happen between the time they dress up to the time they arrive at the graduation ceremony and it couldn't have been a more thrilling and comedic experience. 

          This is, without a doubt, the funniest film I have seen so far this year. Who would've thought that such a movie could be brought to us by Olivia Wilde, who directed it. I was fortunate to see an early access screening that I believe Instagram was putting on. Very few theaters provided the screening, but luckily a theater near me was doing a showing. I enjoyed it and so did the audience in the auditorium.
          One thing that I've been starting to notice lately in high school movies is that there is an evolving portrayal of peer relationships. If you watch a high school movie that was made over ten years ago you'll notice that there is usually some sort of barrier between the "popular" and the "outcasts." They are presented as polar opposites; two worlds that independently co-exist in a non-symbiotic relationship. Take Mean Girls for instance. The Plastics are a representation of the idea that "populars" are deluded in that they think they exist on a completely different plane than most of the student body. Most of the time, they are portrayed as the bullies, essentially filling the role of the villain in which the outcast hero will face at one point. Mean Girls is a bit of an exception with how the story plays out, but generally, this is present in a lot of high school movies. This is something that Booksmart does away with completely. Molly and Amy are somewhat presented as outcasts, but, being academic stars, they have a chill relationship with other members of the student body. Yes, the jocks and the weirdos are still there, but the idea of there being two worlds is nowhere to be found in the movie. All of Molly and Amy's classmates are portrayed as non-deluded equals existing on the same plane. I feel like this is a more accurate representation of schools today. This is how I felt about my high school experience at least which was within the last five years. Everyone, as far as I know, got along with everyone. Of course, there are definitely people who can't say the same for themselves, but in a general sense, I feel this aspect is more accurately portrayed.
          Of course, the main thing that will draw the audience is the unapologetically raunchy comedy. The humor knows no bounds and its absolutely delightful. Even with the raunchiness, the film still finds a unique way to be creative and original with its comedy and I really appreciated that. The screenplay is also amazing. Overall, the story is just two nerdy girls trying to fit four years of teen partying into one night, but there's more to it than that. Molly and Amy end up all over the town and their desire to party drives them into crazy situations. Many of the supporting characters are fleshed out and have their own presence.
          One thing that people butt heads on lately is LGBT representation in film. A lot of the times, at least for me, gay characters either feel forced in and/or completely stereotypical. While the film does have some characters like that, it really took its time to develop Amy as a gay character. Her being gay isn't forced in and she doesn't act stereotypically. It's there and the story wouldn't work without this aspect. It doesn't treat Amy's homosexuality as something eccentric, but rather, as something that bears a lot of the same tribulations as heterosexuality when it comes to sexual awakenings.
          Many people have stated that this film is basically a female version of "Superbad". The tone and executions of both movies are indeed similar, but I feel as though that's where the similarities end. Booksmart can stand on its own just fine without comparison.
          On a final note, the chemistry between the characters of Molly and Amy is great. Their friendship is played out so well so that when you get to the end it makes certain interactions more impactful. Beanie Feldstein and Kaitlyn Dever are amazing actresses and have a full career ahead of them. As for Olivia Wilde, I can't wait to see what else she puts out in the future if she decides to make more films. 9.5/10