I went to see Bottoms, a new film directed by Emma Seligman and written by Seligman and co-star Rachel Sennott. It's a teen sex comedy starring Sennott and Ayo Edebiri as teen lesbians PJ and Josie in high school who feel like losers and outcasts not because they are queer, but because they are untalented, unpopular, and don't stand out. They want to have sex with the gorgeous cheerleaders of their dreams (Havana Rose Liu and Kaia Gerber), and after realizing that teen girls need to know self-defense against boys, and trying to avoid expulsion by accidentally "attacking" the school football star, the friends claim that they were practicing for a fight club, where it will seem like a self-defense club for girls, but really is to raise endorphins to get their dream girls turned on so they will have sex with them.
It's a fun and weird take on teen sex comedies that would be focused on boys trying to lose their virginities or tricking girls with bets or cover stories, but doing it with queer girls to make them be as flawed and messed-up in their thinking as the boys would be. I like that they depict PJ and Josie as awkward and nerdy, as the girls inadvertently spread a rumor that they spent the summer in juvie, and stick to that lie, claiming to have fought girls there and weathered rough times, to give legitimacy to their fight club, while in reality they are both very dorky and sheltered and have never fought before.
The movie is a broad, over the top comedy, that presents an exaggerated depiction of high school that seemingly only exists in teen films. The football team are worshipped, are always wearing their football uniforms with shoulder pads in them all the time, the school's reputation rides on the football team's games (who have had a long losing streak), the students run the pep rallies with seemingly no intervention from adult school officials, and the fight club is sanctioned by a schoolteacher (former NFL running back Marshawn Lynch) who stands by as girls punch each other bloody in the name of "self-defense."
I liked how Rachel Sennott could play PJ as being messy and unlikable, and there was a scrappiness to her that I liked, as well as seeing how much she idealized wanting to get with the obviously unattainable hot girl, like a typical nerd aiming way too high out of her league. But I also liked how Ayo Edebiri played Josie with more awkward sweetness, seemingly very young (Edebiri is barely thirty but still sounds much younger than her years), and having a lot of heart in this role, especially when she is trying to flirt with her dream girl and feeling tongue-tied around her.
Aside from the leads, there are some great standout performances. One of my favorites was Ruby Cruz as Hazel, a queer girl with a neglectful mother who is enthusiastic in helping PJ and Josie start their fight club even if she knows what their true intentions are. She had this dry humor and boyish appearance that made her one of the more interesting characters to watch, and I felt much more sympathy for her, especially as PJ and Josie keep dumping on her and treating her like a loser, while taking advantage of her support for their club. And while the club starts out as being about self-defense and fighting, it turns into a regular social club for both awkward misfit girls and popular cheerleaders alike, connecting over shared trauma with sexual assault, crappy home lives, and bonding and becoming friends, becoming something more than just about PJ and Josie focusing on their sexual pleasure.
Another favorite of mine was Nicholas Galitzine as the dimwitted Jeff the football star, as he was a lot of fun to watch, in just how much he threw himself into this ridiculous caricature of a quarterback star. He felt like a combination of Kevin from Daria, with his blissful ignorance of anything outside of football and high school popularity, and James Marsden as his football star character from Sugar & Spice, as being sweet but dumb and innocent. Jeff isn't really a likable character, as he is shown to be morally wrong and self-centered, but he's so stupid that he can't really be hated. And Galitzine's performance was a lot of goofy fun to watch.
While I'm not really into broad comedy, and I didn't laugh as much as others in the theater, I still really enjoyed it as a different take on a teen sex comedy with queer female protagonists and centering female sexuality and desire, while also making a movie about teen girls developing friendships and finding strength in being able to stand up for themselves and fighting back against people. I'm glad this movie did well when it came out this summer, it's definitely one of the standout comedies of the year.
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