Movie Review: "Booksmart" Is Super Good

A hilarious, heartfelt and trailblazing teen comedy from first-time director Olivia Wilde.

Remember the poster for Superbad? It plastered a dangerously funkadelic font over a scared-straight photo of its far-from-funky leads Jonah Hill and Michael Cera.

In 2019 (an insane-to-comprehend 12 years later), the poster for Booksmart does the opposite. Its title evokes pushing glasses back up the bridge of one’s nose, yet the picture is of stars Beanie Feldstein (sister of Jonah Hill) and Kaitlyn Dever looking, well, superbad.

The two movies share DNA, and I don’t just mean the literal DNA of the Feldstein family. Booksmart also centers on two outcast teens wanting to raise hell before going off to college. They’re looking for a huge party, yet dodgy adults complicate their journey too. And Booksmart has a similarly cheeky—okay, filthy—sense of humour. Except, this is no gender-flipped knock-off.

In fact, Booksmart deserves credit for blazing a trail, and finally fulfilling the prophecy of a diverse and sex-positive teen comedy entirely written by and directed by women. (I love Blockers and Bad Neighbours 2, which are way more evolved than the teen comedies that came before, but they collectively have seven screenwriters, all male, so this is a nice, needed change.)

Why is it important to have women tell this story? It’s certainly not to receive an automatic 'tick' for authenticity. It’s not to prove 'girls can be as gross as the guys' either. It’s to increase the range of stories being told. Without diminishing what actresses bring to male-scripted stories, there are undeniable blind spots when it comes to depictions of female experiences in cinema history. Booksmart can’t retroactively go back and fill in those gaps. What it can do is add to a teen comedy tapestry, helping turn our most misogynistic, homophobic genre into our most inclusive.

The director is Olivia Wilde, better known up until this exact moment as an actor, and heretofore known as one of the most exciting and promising up-and-coming filmmakers going. This is her first feature effort behind the camera, and she brings energy and agency to this coming-of-age tale, aided by a script credited to Emily Halpern, Susanna Fogel, Sarah Haskens and Katie Silberman.

However, it’s the brilliant stars of Booksmart who guarantee its place in the teen comedy pantheon.

Feldstein plays Molly, the little-liked, rule-abiding class president of her graduating year. On the last day of school, she discovers her trouble-making peers are going to ivy league universities, just like her, except they didn’t spend their teen years dedicating themselves solely to study. Molly’s mind is blown, so she enlists her best friend Amy (Dever) for one wild night, to prove they didn’t let high school pass them by. Amy, another goodie-two-shoes, is terrified of getting into trouble, but she agrees to help seek out an elusive and exclusive house party, such is her devotion to Molly. They put on matching jumpsuits for the adventure, as if they’re instinctively preparing to get arrested.

It would be criminally negligent to not come right out and say here, after several paragraphs of blathering: Feldstein and Dever make for a delightful duo. Wilde could’ve simply filmed them complimenting and validating the hell out of one another—as their characters often do—and released the unedited cut to cinemas. I suppose it’s good to have a movie with conflict too.

The wide-eyed, 25-year-old Feldstein, despite having seemingly only ever played teenagers (in this, Bad Neighbours 2 and the soulful Lady Bird) never gives the same performance twice. With this leading role, she shows off a dramatic range that only became evident much later on for her big bro. Dever, meanwhile, is the MVP, as the awkward, cheery and queer Amy. We learn her character came out as gay two years earlier, but her initial moment of triumph has been dulled by two years of romantic inactivity. Watching Dever navigate this character is Booksmart’s standout treat. It’s far from its only treat though. As with Superbad, or Short Term 12 (where Dever got her big break), Booksmart will likely spin-off numerous exciting careers from its only-temporarily-unknown supporting cast. I especially enjoyed Billie Lourd—who, in fairness, is Hollywood royalty—as the off-kilter, deathless wild child Gigi. And then there’s the hilarious Jason Sudeikis, Jessica Williams, Will Forte and Lisa Kudrow as the teachers and parents herding the kids into adulthood. Pray for the kids.

Wilde’s direction is thoughtful—like during a single take argument between Molly and Amy that slowly drowns out the discussion with score—and her comedic beats all land. That said, she probably overplays the now-tired joke of having characters perform slow-motion struts to hip-hop songs. Still, she manages to pull off the dirtiest joke of the year, defeating even Long Shot. You’ll know it when it comes.

4.5/5

In Australian cinemas 11 July. Rated MA15+ for strong crude sexual humour and coarse language.

Coarse language warning.

Header Image: Universal Pictures