SXSW 2019 Review: BOOKSMART: How Is This Olivia Wilde’s Debut?!

Coming-of-age films are at an all-time high. Every year, some filmmaker will come along and give a new perspective on the child’s experience growing up, from middle school to high school. In the past two years, we already have three coming-of-age dramas that are also directorial debuts – Greta Gerwig for Lady Bird, Bo Burnham for Eighth Grade, and now Olivia Wilde for Booksmart.

Carrying a plot similar to Superbad, Booksmart is the story of two best friends, Molly and Amy (Beanie Feldstein, Kaitlyn Dever), who studied throughout their entire high school years. Realizing their peers have also gotten into prestigious colleges while partying hard, the two set out to make the night before graduation the mother of all parties, one that can make up four years of being overachieving students.

So think of Superbad, but weirder, more diverse, more hip, and completely female-driven. And it’s awesome.

What a Beautiful Friendship

This film lives and dies by its lead duo friendship. If you loved Feldstein as the best friend character from Lady Bird, you will be blown away here. She completely owns the lead role with confidence, balancing the egotistical and existential struggles within a valedictorian senior.

Molly is smart, but also demanding and stubborn, which makes a fun yet insightful chemistry with Dever’s Amy, who is always politically active to help others but never confident about herself, despite already coming out of the closet years ago to her peers and parents. With Dever already proving she could handle difficult emotions in films like Short Term 12, Booksmart is proof that Dever is destined to be nominated for an Oscar in the future.

Their relationship in this film is the epitome of a journey. It’s got all the emotional highs and lows that build towards becoming a more mature, understanding person and friend. Together, these two actresses ground the comedy and the drama, carrying the entire film on their shoulders. In fact, Wilde revealed in the Q&A session that Feldstein and Dever nailed the most important scene in the film in two takes. You’ll know it when you see it. It’s incredible.

A Tad Familiar, but SO FUNNY!

This movie is hysterically funny, and a big part of its humor comes from its confidence in showing teenage awkwardness and blunt crudeness. Thanks to the charm of its two leads, the film’s obscenity comes across as pure, in-the-moment, and inoffensive. Under Wilde’s directing, the film never talks down to its audience nor judges its characters as repulsive. You end up with lovable characters who can say the most taboo and nasty things without ever trying to be scandalous for the sake of being scandalous; it’s an incredible balance of tone and character.

On a plot level, though, Booksmart is very familiar. You’d likely watch the entire film while making mental connections to Superbad, Animal House, Lady Bird, and Fast Times at Ridgemont High. For that reason, the second act might come off as too long, and the minor characters might feel too cliché and formulaic for some viewers. Despite every character garnering several laughs from me and the audience, they still fall under similar labels, ranging from “the crazy bitch” to “the obnoxious guy who would not stop talking.”

Though the film is consistently funny and entertaining, the plot occasionally halts for its hilarious set pieces and characters. It’s not until the third act where the film and its wisdom really shines. Boy, does it shine.

This is a Very Kind Film, Thanks to Wilde

Feldstein and Dever aside, the real heroine of Booksmart is Olivia Wilde, who directed this film as if she’s been directing for decades. From her camera placement with cinematographer Jason McCormick to her creative editing decisions with editor Jamie Gross, Wilde is a revelation. You would not know this is her directorial debut.

In spite of all the crude jokes, which earn the film its R rating, Wilde guides the film from start to finish with an overwhelming sense of kindness and love. She loves all the characters in her film, and it shows. She doesn’t shy away from showing their mistakes, vulnerabilities, and potential toxicity, yet she still provides warmth and understanding. We’re never asked or led to judge the characters on-screen, which I believe is a rarity in crude comedies.

Booksmart: Make Another Movie, Olivia Wilde! You’re a Genius!

Olivia Wilde directs Booksmart like a loving mother, understanding and open to her characters’ bizarre quirks while providing the necessary wisdom for them to grow. With one of the best on-screen friendships I’ve ever seen, Booksmart is funny, loud, messy, warm, and incredibly performed by its all-star cast. Mark my words, we will get more films that pair Beanie Feldstein and Kaitlyn Dever together. We will be hearing these two names more and more frequently in the future.

Just when I thought coming-of-age fatigue is about to kick in, Booksmart overwhelms with its confident energy and wisdom, and reminds me why I love the sub-genre in the first place.

Did you see Booksmart at SXSW? What did you think of the film? Share below!

Booksmart premiered at SXSW on March 10, 2019. It will be released in theaters on May 24, 2019. For all international release dates, click here.