Booksmart (2019)

Booksmart (2019)

Two academic overachievers from high school set out to prove that they're a smart and fun for one last time.

The Very Best

9.0

Movie

United States of America
English, Japanese, Mandarin
Comedy
2019
FEMALE DIRECTOR, OLIVIA WILDE
Adam Krist, Austin Crute, Beanie Feldstein
102 min

What it's about

Two academic teenage superstars realize, on the eve of their high school graduation, that they should have worked less and played more. Determined to never fall short of their peers, the girls set out on a mission to cram four years of fun into one night.

The take

Do you keep re-watching Superbad when you're hungover? Next time you are, try the film that has been praised as 'the female Superbad”: the amazing Booksmart. Yes, it's coming-of-age comedy, but, like Superbad, it tried something a little different. Like its two main characters, one could say it's a bit smarter than Greg Mottola's seminal bromedy. Molly (Beanie Feldstein, incidentally, Jonah Hill's younger sister) and Amy (Kaitlyn Dever) are best friends, class presidents, and academic overachievers. Nice girls, too. With excellent grades in their pockets, they head off to college only to find that the same in-crowd from high school that was doing nothing but partying, now goes to the same college as them. Why, oh why, did they choose academic success over partying, when, clearly, they could have had both? On their last day in high school, now here's a trope, they decide to make up for all the years of lost partying on one night. This sets off a raucous, raunchy, and wildly entertaining ride. And with a feminist twist!

Comments

It was adorable and a fun time overall. Recommend!

Terrible!! Waisted 2 hours of my life. Why is this rated 9/10??

This one seemed thrown together and contrived, albeit a somewhat good way to kill a couple of hours to satisfy my curiosity.

B

Bee

Had such a blast watching this, don’t expect a true-to-life story but an hilarious ride nonetheless.

Can’t believe I wasted my time watching this. The movie completely missed reality and was try-hard. Disappointed it was rated 9/10.

This movie is terrible and not at all based in ‘real life’. An amalgamation of Apatow-esque humor, poor character development, and an overindulgence of American politics, it falls flat both as a comedy and coming-of-age film, creating a completely forgettable experience.

Watch it and find out for yourself.

Hilarious, handles some difficult topics very well, and despite being loud and theatrical, pretty true to life.

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