A Review of Booksmart

One day in early 2019, I was in Los Angeles visiting my uncle and aunt. Night came around, and we got comfortable on their couch in the living room, and turned on the TV, and watched a movie my aunt had heard about from a few of her friends in the screenwriting business. She had heard it was brilliant, and after a night filled with laughter and fully captured attention, we all realized that she heard right.

Booksmart, a movie directed by Olivia Wilde, is a comedy film about two high school seniors, Molly and Amy. Both girls are straight A students, Ivy-League commits, and long time best friends. Despite being very accomplished, the two girls come to a scary realization on the last day of their senior year… They’ve spent their entire high school careers focused on school, and they forgot to have fun. In a last ditch attempt to have as much fun with their teen years as their peers, Molly and Amy decide to go to the end of year party at the popular Nick’s house. This goal sends them on a wild adventure, where they do things like get in the back of a serial killer’s car, hallucinate on drugs they didn’t mean to take, and discover things about their own friendship that had yet to come to the surface.

Booksmart is a movie that will make you laugh, but will also make you reconsider your life. It makes you think about things like enjoying every day as best you can, and not being afraid to let loose every once in a while. We learn to not always be so afraid of what others think, because even though Molly and Amy were never the popular kids, when they finally make it to Nick’s party, they are surprised to find themselves warmly welcomed. We learn that everyone is feeling the same things, no matter what college they’re going to or what their high school life was like. Everyone is just afraid for the unknown, that next big step, the next big move.

This is a movie that is very complex, and isn’t just a movie for laughs, but will certainly give you many. I love the soundtrack, especially the song Slip Away by Perfume Genius, and the set is colorful and exciting during every scene. This will always be one of my favorite movies of all time, and my opinion of it is very high. I recommend this movie to all high school students, though I’m sure people of all ages will enjoy.