In a class of their own.

Considering teenagers are nothing if not tightly packed balls of volatile hormonal energy, you’d be forgiven for thinking love was the be-all and end-all of the teen comedy. Yet, while the bulk of the sub-genre does utilise romance and sex as key plot catalysts, for the very best, there’s something far more platonic running under the surface. 

Friendship is the beating heart of the teen comedy. Without it, even the best romance feels shallow and soulless. Yet, for all its significance, a good on-screen friendship is incredibly hard to come by. 

Gross out, crude, and sex-obsessed though they may be, even the brashest examples of the genre are underpinned by a keen sense of companionship somewhere deep down. It’s something that helps drive the narrative while giving us a tangible emotional foothold even in the most raucous of moments. Just look at American Pie and Superbad. Under all the pie sex and dick sketches you have two surprisingly affecting tales of camaraderie and friendship to keep us engaged.

Romance is easy. We’ve seen movie love a million times before; yet building a convincing and heart-felt big screen friendship is something else entirely. Not one to buck from a challenge, however, Booksmart proves itself to be a charming, hilarious ode to the power of best mates.

Straight-A students, academic superstars, Ivy League shoo-ins – best friends Amy (Kaitlyn Dever) and Molly (Beanie Feldstein) are convinced they’ve got life sorted, until a shocking revelation on the eve of their high school graduation leaves them reeling. Convinced they should’ve spent their school years working less and playing more, the two are determined to go out with a bang, setting off on a mission to cram four years of partying into just one night.

Friendship means the world to Booksmart. Every bit as clever as the title suggests, the film makes the wise decision to put the platonic bond between Amy and Holly at the heart of absolutely everything. As a result, first time director Olivia Wilde creates a heightened but utterly authentic coming-of-age tale full to the brim with charm, affection, and warmth.

As a genre, the teen comedy has an on/off relationship with its heart, with so many movies opting for cheap laughs at the expense of their characters. As such, relationships are so often portrayed as two-dimensional constructs put in place purely for the sake of the odd dick joke, something that has earned the genre a less than glowing reputation that’s not entirely unfair. 

Bucking the trend, Booksmart delivers the emotional punch many of its kind sorely lack. What on the surface feels like your average teen coming-of-age comedy is swiftly elevated to so much more thanks to the inspired writing of our central duo and an admirable desire to stay focused on their bond, even as the gags start rolling in. Olivia Wilde builds everything around Amy and Molly and the result is one of the finest young comedy partnerships of recent years.

For a film with so few bankable names, Booksmart puts an awful lot of pressure on the shoulders of its two young stars, yet rather than shy away from the spotlight, both Kaitlyn Dever and Beanie Feldstein step up and actively embrace their moment. Crackling with heart, soul, and comic timing way beyond their years, their on-screen relationship is an absolute revelation, with a natural, jovial chemistry that makes everything tick. 

With barely a moment apart, clicking immediately was crucial for the Dever and Feldstein, but it’s clear from the off that we’re in safe hands as the pair riff off one another like seasoned pros. From the moment we’re introduced to them through an oddball body-popping greeting routine, you know precisely what you’re in for as the duo switch from goofy slapstick to moving intimacy with ease.

Understandably, Booksmart is all about the personal growth of both Amy and Molly, yet it’s certainly not a film that lets them overshadow everyone else, as we gradually grow to appreciate the ensemble’s part in their story. What at first feels like a conveyor belt of stereotyped cardboard cut-outs, quickly blooms into a surprisingly rounded and thoroughly satisfying group of supporting characters. 

Led by a wonderfully freewheeling Billie Lourd, the ensemble cast gradually grow into the story to become key players, with even those you’d initially written off as jocks or unlikeable douchebags coming out of the movie with their heads held high. It’s not easy under the circumstances, yet Olivia Wilde and the team of screenwriters do an incredible job in crafting a sympathetic and wholly realistic collection of young characters.

Utterly sympathetic to its teenage characters and allowing them ample room to shine, the writing absolutely pops as it explores the lovable but complex relationship between Amy and Molly, together with those around them. As it bristles with humour and energy, the script digs far deeper than your average teen comedy, taking its sweet time to get to know its characters in intimate and often painful detail. 

For any comedy in Booksmart’s mould, the temptation to go for the easy gag is always there, but while the film certainly has its fair share of crude, gross out moments, it’s all beautifully counterbalanced by a subtle charm that’s tough to fake and downright impossible to resist.

At this point, many will draw the obvious connection with Superbad, yet Booksmart’s cuts go far deeper than that. With elements of the script and the humour evoking everything from American Graffiti to Clueless, the film aims for more than mere mimicry by infusing it all with a modern sensibility that’s every inch its own. 

Embracing its influences while blazing its own trail, Booksmart is wise way beyond its years, drawing from its inspirations while folding in a thoroughly grown up, contemporary approach that takes a refreshing and frank slant on everything from adolescent pressure to sexuality along the way. 

Almost inevitably, however, the plot travels along a fairly predictable road. The restricted time frame and familiar coming-of-age narrative bring it in line with likeminded rights-of-passage movies such as American Pie and even Revenge of the Nerds, as Amy and Molly stumble their way through the night and through some tough life lessons. Yet, despite it’s predictable plot machinations, dismissing Booksmart as merely “Superbad with girls” does it a huge disservice.

Elevating itself above the rather formulaic plot, Booksmart hinges hugely on the chemistry and charm of its leads, together with its razor-sharp script, yet the impact of rookie director Olivia Wilde should not be overlooked. Brimming with style and verve, the film rides high on Wilde’s keen eye for visual storytelling as she reveals herself as an exceptional filmmaking talent with a genuine feel for her young characters and their many issues.

Helped along by Dan the Automator’s wonderfully energetic score, Wilde’s style is an absolute revelation, brimming with flair and bravura as it skips along at a million miles an hour. Deploying an impressive array of innovative, eye-catching techniques, Wilde’s filmmaking approach showcases huge amounts of style and maturity, complementing the buzz, charm, and smarts of Amy and Molly perfectly.

Even as the plot becomes a little too familiar, Booksmart’s energy never dips. Directing with responsibility and verve, Olivia Wilde eschews many of the teen comedy’s cruder tendencies in a film that’s wholly sympathetic not only to its protagonists, but to the entire cast. Friendship is at the very core of everything Booksmart is trying to achieve and, backed up by wonderful performances by Kaitlyn Dever and Beanie Feldstein, the film brims with warmth and personality while feeling utterly plugged into the generation at its heart. Wise beyond its years, Booksmart proudly takes its place in a new class of coming-of-age comedy that wears its influences on its sleeve while blazing its own trail into the future.