Well, hello there.
This week we got this contest where we can talk about our favorite party movie, and I knew I had to review Booksmart for this.
"Booksmart" is a 2019 coming of age film, that narrates the story of Amy and Molly, a pair of best friends who spent their whole school life being the "smart kids", putting a lot of effort to get good grades instead of having fun like others schoolmates in order to get into a good university. But in their last day of school, they realize that the other kids who had a lot of fun partying and such (and not much studying) also got in the good universities, making them think that just sacrificed for "nothing".
In order to change their image, and prove that they can also have fun while being a high school student, they decide to go to the last party of the year and make it up for all the time missed... Problem is, they don't know where the party is, and there's where all the adventure begins.
This is the debut film of Olivia Wilde as a director, yes THE Olivia Wilde, and I can proudly say it is such a great movie that makes you reminisce your teenhood in a fondly way. I actually felt that it hit home for me, because like the main roles I was the "smart kid" in my school that didn't go partying that much (but mostly because i didn't like it) except for the few last days of school before graduation.
They comedy here is perfectly delivered, and gives many roller coaster type of situations that make you stay glued to the screen. Though I wouldn't recommend to show it to parents or people above 35 years since it shows a lot of young slang and millennial comedy of some sorts. I was with my best friend and her mom the first time I watched, and while we were laughing a lot, my friend mom didn't get many of the jokes.
Also, the protagonists not only deliver the jokes, they sell their friendship. It is very easy to get invested in their relationship and to root for them to make it to the party. As a fun fact, Olivia Wilde made Beanie Feldstein and Kaitlyn Dever roommate for 10 weeks so they could grow a bond, and it's translated well into the movie.
One of my favorites parts of it, it's almost at the beginning while they're deciding what to wear to this big party and end up with an outfit that's very similar. Instead of being angry at each other or making the other change up they start giving compliments to each other like: "Who allow you to be this beautiful?" or "Excuse me?! You're stunning." which I think it show so much about female relations, and it's something that is now part of my life since my best friend and I quote this movie every time we go out and "doll up" for the occasion.
Another great scene is when they end up drugged and in their trip they just see themselves as Barbie Dolls. It is a super bizarre yet funny moment, and I find it very refreshing in terms of approaching for these type of scenes. This is one of the moments that pops up into my mind when I think about this movie.
Even when it is a teen comedy, coming of age movie, done in a very lighthearted way, it also has a great message by its ending. Not only like you should also have fun as much as you put effort in what you do (studying, working, etc), but also to not be arrogant and to not underestimate others.
In the beginning and during the movie we see a lot of moments where Amy and Molly think that they are better than the others just because they're smart or because they got higher grades. And also they think that just because of this, their future is brighter that other's. They tend to underestimate their classmates a lot, and fortunately we see that their perceptions change while the film advances.
I highly recommend this movie, so if you got time, please check it out.
Anyways, thanks for reading and good luck to every other contestant!
Written for "CineTV" Community, you can check the contest guideline post here: @cinetv/cine-tv-contest-23-favorite-party-movie.
Disclaimer: All the pictures were taken from iMDB