Olivia Wilde takes the big leap and debuts as director of this wonderful teen comedy. Known for her roles in Dr. House or Cowboys & Aliens, Olivia opens the director's chair and I hope she gets used to it because Booksmart is a work of art.
The cast includes Beanie Feldstein (Lady Bird, Good Neighbors 2), Kaitlyn Dever (Beautiful Boy), Diana Silvers (MA), Billie Lourd (Star Wars: The Force Awakens, Star Wars Episode VIII), Jason Sudeikis and Lisa Kudrow, among others. As I said at the beginning, it is directed by Olivia Wilde and written by Emily Halpern, Sarah Haskins, Susanna Fogel and Katie Silberman.
Although the movie arrives a little (very) late to our rooms, mark August 1 in their calendars, I will try not to echo much of the spoilers because it is really worth paying the entrance to the cinema and then I tell you why.
The argument
Amy (Kaytlin Dever) and Molly (Beanie Feldstein) are best friends since they are rightful, cloyingly nerd, never interested in attending parties or doing what is generally done at that age. His concern was to get good grades and apply each one to the university they want to attend. But on the eve of graduation, Molly realizes that the rest of her classmates in addition to partying also passed their exams for the university that everyone wanted.
In an attempt to do what they missed in four years in one night, they experience many "first times" during their pre-graduation.
Over the course of the night, Molly and Amy are also exposed to a lesson about the importance of that first friendship, plus the dangers of classifying classmates as simple social stereotypes.
The fact that the script is so well applied that the secondary actors can shine without obscuring the protagonists already tells us enough.
And if I have to talk about a secondary character who steals each of the scenes in which it appears is that of Gigi (Billie Lourd), who stands out from the zero minute, but also the character of Jared (Skyler Gisondo) is a clear proof that appearances are deceiving throughout the movie.
Katie Silberman's script is responsible for showing empathy and heart for her secondary characters, which are commonly relegated or are like back up for the main character to grow throughout the plot.
All these details make Booksmart a special proposal, and one of the best films about the maturity and friendship of recent years. The argument is right to put the lights on each of these secondary partners, and so they acquire a new dimension every time history revisits them throughout the night and is what makes it so pleasant to the viewer.
The characters break with the classic clichés of "high school teenagers" and this is a midfield goal. They do not look anything like what the film industry has accustomed us with regard to appearances and I find it spectacularly well staged. It shows that the director knew what she was doing and manages to project it.
Friendship and love in today's times
It is obvious that the heart of the film is the friendship that Molly and Amy have since they have memory. From speaking in another language to get out of situations to a word of security to keep up. Because although it seems like a story with a happy ending, people grow up and must follow their course, in this case, the university.
This is what Wilde knows how to put on stage, yes, during the almost two hours there are love stories, and yes, there are more friendships, but none like that of the protagonists. Because after all, first love does not have to be romantic and I think that is what the director and actresses try to convey to the viewer.
The chemistry that young women have on screen is exquisite, of course it is the basis of such (and surprising) success.
The fact of implementing the romantic interest as "platonic" love seems to me something totally seen, what makes it different? I can not tell you. But believe me that Olivia knows how to handle absolutely all this as if she already had a thousand films under her command.
Booksmart comes to our rooms with a translated title that does not do it justice (The Night of the Nerds) and is not worth comparing to Superbad (2007), not even saying that it is a female version of the film starring a young Jonah Hill. Why? Because we have to stop comparing movies with each other or claim that it is a female version of such a movie or such and, luckily, Beanie has the same potential as her brother Jonah.