Booksmart (2019)

Books are only the beginning.

Booksmart is the misadventures of Molly (Beanie Feldstein) and Amy (Kaitlyn Dever). They have dedicated all their time to each other and to academics; they always get good grades, teachers love them. Classic overachievers. Now the best friends have one night left to see (high school) life for the very first time.

The movie is so fun to watch, I saw it twice and never lost my smile for almost the entire movie; laughed out loud for on what to me were the greatest hits. The story had a great texture to it; highs and lows; happy and sad. All with music that gives it an extra punch.

I remember that female Ghostbusters movie; there was clockwork regularity to the jokes that although you may enjoy a joke or two or more, it detracts to the story.  

Booksmart had direction and heart. The humor felt organic. Laughing is not only for the sake of laughing like skits on Saturday Night Live; instead, laughing is just happy times with friends.

Beanie Feldstein and Kaitlyn Dever didn’t impress me at first. Amy picks up Molly for school; they have this silly greeting to each other and let’s just say I was hoping they don’t do that again.  

What was that? Who are they? Sue me, I was impatient. Before long, just after the opening scene and barely 10 minutes in, the story begun to pick up. 

Amy was awkward and gay. Molly the dominant friend looked like a villain, and a teacher’s pet can give that impression, but there were mismatches to typical school tropes so I was hooked.

Booksmart has a great cast and everything depended on Beanie and Kaitlyn. I believed in the school, the graduating class of 2019, because Molly and Amy were so believable. 

That stupid opening greeting is just what it is a stupid greeting between best friends. I didn’t have to like it because only the best friends would. They were just beginning.

Molly and Amy would have languages, culture, secrets, games, and a code of conduct that only the two of them would know. They were believable when they’re fighting or just teasing each other. It is easy to smile just for seeing what friendships are supposed to be. 

And once you were able to smile then you may have felt the same dread in the finality of that evening. High school is over.

Principal Jordan Brown (Jason Sudeikis) leads familiar faces that add flavor to Booksmart. Veteran comedians pop in now and then but never long enough to distract from Molly and Amy. 

Principal Brown gets the best scene with shock value laughter. Amy’s parents (Lisa Kudrow and Will Forte) who are genuinely but awkwardly supportive of her coming out are the most endearing.

Last time I watched about story that had cliques was 13 Reasons Why. I only stuck with season 1, loved it; suffice to say the cliques were as rigid and brutal as imagined and it didn’t end up with a happy ending.

As I remember it, the typical movie depiction of cliques was rigid. Peace was made by characters able to cross the divide, make alliances, until finally ending in genuine friendship. Which in itself is not a bad lesson, moral of the story is you learn to make friends different than you.

Booksmart is the first movie that I have seen that although there is the rough outline of cliques, it was never rigid. One can argue that it was presented as a mirage as such only needs reaching out for someone to realize that it is not there.

The culmination, hilariously developed by Molly and Amy, is a heartfelt community spirit on graduation day that anyone would be so lucky to see once in their life. I can't remember a school movie with such universal goodwill oozing at the end.

Congratulations to Olivia Wilde for directing her first full length movie. Booksmart is Rotten Tomatoes Best Reviewed top 5 of 2019, no less.