Superbad Gone Gynocentric [Booksmart Film Review]

There’s a moment in Booksmart, at the end of the second act, where a supporting character states that he hopes to make billions of dollars designing airplanes and then take that money and finance Broadway musicals; he stresses that they will be “original” and not revivals. He then goes on to lament about how there is nothing new anymore and how everything is either a revival, rehash, or reboot. It’s a blatantly forced ironic meta mini-moment as practically nothing in this little film is original.
While not specifically a revival, Booksmart certainly is a rehash of just about every post-John Hughes teen comedy one can muster their gray matter to think of. The one that came to the forefront of my mind whilst watching this much hyped indie comedy was,1998’s Can’t Hardly Wait. But the film it rips off the most, um, I mean most resembles, is Superbad. Seriously, I can practically see the pitch made to producers: “Think Superbad, but with girls as the leads!” There’s the meek skinny girl and her chubby, bossy bestie (who not-so-coincidentally methinks, happens to be Jonah Hill’s sister in real life). Naturally this odd couple are the two outsiders at their high school and the film gets underway when they realize on the last day before graduation that they wasted the past 4 years in the library instead of partying. Naturally, they decide to crash the biggest senior bash. From there the film dips into semi quest territory as they attempt to locate said party. This was an intriguing twist and for a quick moment I thought I was going to be privy to a teenaged homage to After Hours. Sadly, the filmmakers didn’t go that route and the film quickly sinks back into routine teen comedy tropes.
Even though pretty much everything in this film is pastiched from other films, I did find myself laughing out loud several times, so it wasn’t a complete waste of time. In fact, it’s deja vu-styled familiarity lends the film a kind of nostalgic, warm-n-fuzzy-yet-raunchy vibe.
There is no question that leading ladies-- Kaitlyn Dever and Beanie Feldstein (Hill’s sibling) -- have great chemistry, plus many of the tertiary characters are brilliantly acted and steal scenes whenever they get the chance (keep an eye out for Gigi, portrayed by Carrie Fisher’s daughter, no less), and the soundtrack is killer (although I have to question just how many 18 year old Class of 2019 graduates actually listen to DJ Shadow, Run the Jewels, and The Handsome Boy Modeling School; those guys are contemporaries of mine!). Sadly, none of this helps to mask the fact that the story is full-on “seen it all before” action.
In the end, Booksmart is an entertaining enough diversion, and as much as I want to hate on it for being completely unoriginal, it was funny-as-f&$k a lot of the time. That said, it’s not even the least bit necessary to spend $12 to see on the Big Screen. Seriously, if you are hankering to be reminded of your wasted, misspent youth, then wait for it to show up at Redbox or on your favorite streaming service, that way you can get hella lit in the comfort of your own home and regale in all the vag and queef jokes.

Rating: 2.5/5
RIYL: Can’t Hardy Wait; Superbad; American Pie; She’s All That