Booksmart

In the modern era of a coming of age movie popping up at least once a year, the danger of each new entry feeling less original increases. They aren't immune to the predictable cliches commonly associated with them but are expected to bring something interesting and memorable to the field. Thankfully the past few years have been helpful in that field with Lady Bird, Eighth Grade, and the Edge of Seventeen managed to succeed while being entertaining. With this year, we have arrived to another new entry within this area, Booksmart, which is the directorial debut of Olivia Wilde. The premise of this appeared to be interesting and the marketing made it appear that it could be a hidden gem to pop up during the summer (though seeing the same trailer over and over made me want to see it as soon as possible in order to avoid seeing the same jokes a lot). I entered the auditorium ready to see what it can add to these types of comedies and left it satisfied by what it brought.

What's it about? On the night before their graduation, the story follows two high school seniors finally embarking on a night of partying after their dedication to schoolwork and getting into top colleges. The premise here takes an interesting approach in the perception these students have of one another depending on their appearance in social standings and academic strengths. In addition to that, the realization of how time was spent during academic careers adds extra spice into this plot. Looking at the interactions the eve of being completely finished with high school provides an opportunity to bring that idea to the forefront. Showing the vulnerability of our leads reacting to situations they are socially novice to since it's outside their respective comfort zones keeps things fresh and lively in this film.

Unfortunately, it doesn't stick the landing as strongly as it could have for a comedy in this genre. The humor with some character archetypes are very hit or miss and can slow down the momentum. The music from the directors playlist is on blast here and gets in the way of certain moments. Another offender this does is an argument between the protagonists that wasn't really built up that well (since they've been supportive of each other for much of the movie) and using the music to slowly silence the dispute between them is uncalled for.

How are the leading ladies? In regards to the performances of Kaitlyn Dever and Beanie Feldstein, they are great in delivering the much needed chemistry to keep this weird night moving. The way they work off each other does deliver on a long friendship that exists between the characters. Kaitlyn is solid with the one side of the coin where her innocent nature comes to the unknown social frontier she shied away from while being the most awkward character (in a good way). Beanie is also fun to watch as she takes the potty mouth she learned from her brother Jonah Hill (it's easy to see their resemblance) and combines it with a sort of optimistic yet pompous attitude. Honorable mentions go to Gigi (Billie Lourd), Charmaine (Lisa Kudrow), and Doug (Will Forte) for their comedic contributions despite the limited screen time.

Overall Consensus: Booksmart provides some delight with the chemistry and performances of its lead actresses along with a premise full of possibilities, though its slowed down by a few cliches, hit or miss jokes, and over-reliance on music. ⭑⭑⭑⭑🎟 Runtime: 1 hour 40 minutes R

Reasons to watch it: You like any of the aforementioned actors. You enjoy coming of age stories that shows a friendship coming to a crossroads with graduation. You don't mind a big playlist of songs playing. You don't mind some typical cliches like goofy drug sequences or finding that party the classmates are at.

Reasons to avoid it: You dislike any of the aforementioned actors. You are bored with the abundance coming of age stories that shows a friendship coming to a crossroads with graduation. You get annoyed with films that feature a big playlist of songs playing. You have an issue with some typical cliches like goofy drug sequences or finding that party the classmates are at.