Booksmart

There’s been a long tradition of American films set in and around High Schools, from Rebel Without A Cause to Grease, the Breakfast Club, Clueless and Superbad and beyond. The cadre is now joined by Booksmart (Olivia Wilde, 2019) the story of two girls about to graduate who have set themselves apart from their classmates. In the leading roles we have Beanie Feldstein, sister of Jonah Hill, and Kaitlyn Dever playing Amy and Molly; two Booksmart girls who’s heroes include RBG and Michelle, they also have a Warren 2020 bumper sticker. Molly is the class president and reminds her colleagues of this at any given opportunity. She and Amy have shied away from parties to get into their college of choice, they discover though that all the party animals are still getting into their college of choice as well. The rest of the film is of course all about the consequences of this discovery. It features over bearing parents, supportive teachers, an unusual use for a stuffed panda and lessons in what friendship is. The film basically follows a rom-com formula and is not too demanding really, it’s less than annoying as well. It’s actually more of what we need, lower budget films, with a decent script and engaging performances.