Annapurna Pictures
First off, let me say wow! I was totally surprised to see Olivia Wilde credited as the director for this film when I first saw the trailer. Olivia Wilde is a great actress who can balance funny roles as well as dramatic roles. I am always curious when a well-known actor or actress takes on the role of a director for the first time. Sometimes it pays off, sometimes it doesn’t. An example of a time when it works is Jonah Hill’s film, Mid90s from last year, and now Booksmart from Wilde.
Booksmart isn’t an original film and much of the story feels similar to Superbad that came out in 2007 which starred Jonah Hill, and Booksmart stars his sister, Beanie Feldstein. Booksmart centers around two friends who have spent their high school years focusing on getting good grades so they can get into a prestige school. Once they learn that all the jocks and people who don’t take education seriously got accepted into some of the best colleges in the country, they find themselves trying to have a fun night before graduation to blow off steam.
Even though this movie feels similar to many other comedies, the movie makes itself stand out amongst those movies. From the opening scene to the last shot, the movie was filled with humor and heart that had me grinning from ear to ear. This is easily the funniest movie I have seen this year and that is all due to the two main leads, Beanie Feldstein and Kaitlyn Dever, as well as Olivia Wilde’s directing.
Feldstein and Dever feel comfortable together and a lot of the humor in the film feels natural because of that. They both have an odd sense of humor that feels very much high school, which is some of my favorite kind of humor. The movie is filled with vulgar jokes including some about an old stuffed animal that Dever’s character is very fond of. If you appreciated Superbad’s humor, you will love the humor in here.
Booksmart had a lot to say about the importance of friendship, which offered a lot of endearing moments. Molly (Feldstein) and Amy (Dever) are written as students that really care about education instead of partying and wasting away their precious high school time. Wilde spent enough time with the two friends that she built something strong. The film does give in to some generic moments at the end when the two argue and threaten to end their friendship, which of course doesn’t happen. As the film moves along, the relationship grows stronger and we become more comfortable with seeing the two have fun, which is something that needed to happen for them.
This film easily could have gotten too sappy and generic at the end, but since the characters were so well developed, the dramatic moments at the end felt earned. With those earned dramatic moments also came some heartwarming moments as well. I found the moments of Amy and Molly enjoying themselves before graduation and discovering more about who they are to be truly rewarding. I was someone who took education seriously and didn’t attend parties during high school and I found a lot of similarities between Amy and Molly and myself, which was another reason I was able to connect and enjoy this film.
Jason Sudeikis, who is married to Olivia Wilde, stars as the Principal of the school that Amy and Molly attend. He doesn’t play a huge role in the film, but he gives the funniest line in the movie which happens to be a joke about rapper Cardi B. It was comedic gold.
Booksmart is a film I found to be hilarious and heartwarming. For Olivia Wilde being a first-time director, she did a great job crafting an authentic high school friendship as well as offering some endearing moments. I am really excited to see what Wilde does next in her career, just make it as funny as Booksmart.
Booksmart has a run time of 1 hour 42 minutes and is rated R for strong sexual content and language throughout, drug use and drinking – all involving teens.
Share this post
