Also caught the critical darling teen comedy Booksmart. This one had a huge positive reaction at one of the film conventions/expos and had decent trailer. So I went in hoping for something great. I didn’t get it… but it wasn’t that bad either. I just suspect there might be some overhype based on the first-time director (Olivia Wild) and the female and lesbian representation.
Booksmart has a fairly funny premise. Two girls – friends for life – are on the fast track to great colleges. They spent all high school working hard and avoiding parties or fun. But when they find out they got into the same colleges as the kids who partied, they have an existential crisis and decide they HAVE to party the night before graduation or they’ll be losers.
And… yeah… it’s a “one crazy night” movie about people trying to find a party and having random, wild experiences on the way. Like any comedy, your results may vary. I found a lot of the humor… fine. Sometimes funny, a little too often not. I kept watching the movie try to do things older teen comedies do… only with girls (and one of whom is lesbian). Just cuz you kind of remake Superbad doesn’t mean you’ve made anything great by extension.
I do respect and even admire the two girls in the film. The actors are working hard to land these jokes and to play the emotional beats with conviction. They characters they are playing are ambitious, a little geeky, smart, and a little raunchy. They have definite “friendship goals”. There are some pretty good friendship bonding/breaking scenes that work above and beyond the comedy.
So, yeah, I think this one is a little overhyped. Maybe without the promise of a Great Flick, I’d have enjoyed it more. But it’s not like I hated it. I chuckled a few times and enjoyed the acting and a Gen Z take on a raunchy teen comedy. It’s perfectly fine… or maybe a notch better than perfectly fine.
Score: 78