For most of its 105 minute runtime, Booksmart proves to be a raunchy, albeit authentic high school comedy. It’s a movie that is raunchy and vulgar, but it never allows itself to be mean-spirited.
There’s plenty of laugh out loud moments and they’re surprisingly unique and refreshing as opposed to a lot of laughs we normally get from a comedy of this sort.
The movie follows the exploits of two high school seniors (Kaitlyn Dever and Beanie Feldstein) who always chose to make the grade instead of winding up on social media. They’re both mocked by their peers for being the brainiacs that they are until they both come to the realization that they allowed their high school years to pass them by.
On the eve of their graduation, they decide to throw caution to the wind and go as wild and crazy as they can. They attempt to crash every single party imaginable, sometimes with hilarious results and others that are downright cringeworthy. Nevertheless, their antics always get a reaction.
The movie is basically a female version of Superbad and that shouldn’t come as a surprise seeing that Feldstein is Jonah Hill’s real-life sister. She’s obviously a chip off the old block and her comedic timing in particular in some scenes is borderline impeccable.
The chemistry between its two leads is also undeniably hip and insightful and it’s certainly nice to see two young actresses embrace the material.
There are definitely plot points we can see coming from a mile away, but other than that, this is one refreshing spin on the high school comedy genre.
Booksmart isn’t for everyone, but in its own way, it’s a radical and uncompromising look at high school life. And, yes, it’s extremely funny.
Grade: A-
(Rated R for strong sexual content and language throughout, drug use and drinking – all involving teens.)
