Review: BOOKSMART

Booksmart is just. . .so good throughout. Until I started writing this, I didn’t even consider there were flaws, but now that I think about it. . .none seem important. It was exhilarating, life-affirming, clever, fun, important. . .non-stop excitement in the cinema.

It all began with the title sequence. They just got straight to it. I guess nobody’s forced me to binge-re-watch Marvel films instead of exploring new stories that are told in different ways, but I was instantly taken with how Olivia Wilde seemed to come to life & grab me by my jacket & throw me on my seat. Quiet, and focus now.

I don’t think I knew any of the young actors. It felt like watching Blue is the Warmest Colour. I got completely sucked into the world right from the start: like 3D, but better. I know the exact moment I fell in love: the super fast shot of the back of the car (as pictured above!) Warren 2020? THAT IS SO CURRENT?! It brought everything so much closer. Bedroom sets had the same vibes. Completely unashamed and unapologetic; I love representation! I want Booksmart to do really well because it’ll mean we get more complicated and awesome and flawed and improving, three-dimensional girls on cinema screens!

The beginning was so energetic that I figured it was going to calm down after a bit, but it never did? It didn’t feel like the usual plot structure, but more like a rollercoaster with lots of twists and turns. Really fun/ny scenes kept coming. The drugs scene, I think, has topped the ludes scene from Wolf of Wall Street for most hilarious. It was also from such a different angle?! Like, if you know the film’s about two nerds on a wild night out, there’s going to be drugs at some point. Indeed there was the drug scene, but it was also so unexpected!

My hype over this is definitely aided by timing. It’s the last three weeks of my degree now. I have to say, though–I’ve had a pretty fun/work-balanced experience, but despite UK drinking culture, I’ve never seen a house party like that. It might be because I’m not hanging out in the right circles, but also maybe because I’ve not met a single person who has a pool? And these were high schoolers? Last Halloween, I helped out a guy in a parrot costume who threw up all over himself. This story is so wild that I’ve been telling it regularly since October. But really–is that how people live? I sympathise so much with Molly & Amy.

Molly and Amy, in general, were so great. I went to see Booksmart with my best friend of three years, and it’s the end of us living together/seeing each other every day/sharing everything always, so the timing of this release was perfect! Those extended scenes of affirmation. . .she & I do that!! There was, in general, a lot of touching/hand-holding/weeping together, watching this, thinking about the fun stuff we’ve shared and how to grapple with it ending.

Which, of course, meant the difficult bits were hard to watch. We fight, too, you know? Here it felt like a rollercoaster again: the fun just kept piling, and when shit hit the fan, it was so sudden and intense and so terrible!! While the Nick and Ryan thing was oof, seeing Molly and Amy’s friendship rear its deep and hidden ugly side so honestly made it terribly sad.

Booksmart’s place of honour on my noticeboard

And here, some more things I liked:

• The wacky characters: Gigi is a REVELATION, and so f–king funny. Jared? Has my heart. It was fun getting to know so many people. Just know I loved them.
• The colours!
• The shots! The one with Gigi (as pictured below) oozed cool.
• The soundtrack is taking me places
• The feelings this created during, & even more so after!
• The way this film created so much buzz on Twitter!
• Brittani’s review, which makes some very good points that I refuse to think about because of the amount of love I have for it!

Absolutely can’t wait to see it again. There were so many details and little moments to notice. I’m so lost in their world, and all it takes is a look at the lil leaflet I got from the cinema to get back into it. So much fun!

How did you guys like Booksmart?