DIRECTOR Olivia Wilde
CAST Kaitlyn Dever, Beanie Feldstein,
Billie Lourd, Lisa Kudrow, Will Forte,
Jason Sudeikis
PLOT The day before graduation,
straight-A students Molly (Feldstein) and
Amy (Dever) realise they could have spent
more time partying than studying — while
still getting into impressive colleges. With
less than 24 hours to change things,
they embark on one first, and last, wild
high-school night to remember.
OUT 11 JULY / 102
MINS / RATED MA15+
HHHHH
BOOKSMART
this anxiety deployed with so much joy
in Olivia Wilde’s Booksmart. Faking it
sometimes works, as shy pre-teen Kayla
learns from behind her Instagram filters
in Eighth Grade, while Lady Bird attempts
to reshape the definition of ‘cool’ through
the titular protagonist’s own woke politics
and heartening confessions under the
sheets. But in Booksmart, FOMO urges
Molly (Feldstein) and Amy (Dever) —
an overachieving valedictorian and a
headstrong queer feminist — to prove
their unapologetic confidence in a
freewheeling mission to make their good
night look, and genuinely feel, like the
best time for everyone. “Nobody knows
we’re fun,” Molly explains. “They need to
know.”
Walking a path of well-trodden
hedonistic youth, first-time director
Olivia Wilde carves a note-perfect
millennial portrait rife with specificity.
Instead of relying on sweeping messages,
Booksmart beams with immediacy and
relishes Polaroid-ready memories:
a celebration toasted with condoms used
as water balloons; an accidental drug tripsuffered by Barbie dolls; a whispered,
“I love you,” between best friends
outside a thundering party; the echoes
of vigorous lesbian porn reverberating
through the aux cable of a rainbow-
coloured Lyft. Each sketch testifies
to Wilde’s fearless, innovative skill
in capturing moments that belong to
a collective youth, while giving them
the brazen and wholly original identity
of these two brand-new A+ heroes.
Molly and Amy expertly revise the
narratives on bedroom masturbation,
playground flirting, wardrobe
emergencies and beer pong tactics.
Because they only have one night to live
out four years of recklessness before the
alarm bells of graduation morning ring,
lessons usually rationalised with
hindsight are learned
in the heat of the moment. Wilde never
misses a beat, bringing every new mood
into focus with urgency — with both
a splashy, spirited visual identity, and an
infectiously enjoyable jukebox playlist,
full of militant pop songs guaranteed
to galvanise a generation.Clockwise from above:
Amy (Kaitlyn Dever)
and Molly (Beanie
Feldstein) plan their big
night out; Teenage
kicks — Molly and Amy
hit the road; Letting off
steam, US high
school-style.IN 2019, ‘HAVING fun’ involves
a crucial mission to make sure the entire
world sees you having fun. Shy students
make sure cool kids can take notice, and
it’s a truly euphoric thrill to experience