Bottoms 

Bottoms is a teen comedy with a twist. PJ (Rachel Sennott) and Josie (Ayo Edebiri) are best friends in their senior year of high school. As social outcasts, they’re self-described “ugly, untalented gays.” They long to date the school’s hottest cheerleaders, Brittany (Kaia Gerber) and Isabel (Havana Rose Liu). To seduce their crushes, they start a self-defense class under the guise that it will empower young women. They ask classmate and PJ’s best friend Hazel (Ruby Cruz) to be the leader and a naive teacher (Marshawn Lynch) to act as their faculty advisor. Unfortunately, their idea devolves into a fight club with violent results. Yes, the girls punch each other in the face, and there will be blood.

The characters rely on archetypes but within a highly surreal atmosphere. There’s the dumb jock, the condescending cheerleader, the lustful housewife, the ineffective principal, and the inexperienced nerd. I laughed at the absudity of it all. Bottoms presents a lot of incongruous developments. The bizarre tonal shifts are hilarious. This presentation of high school is preposterous. For example, the school is obsessed with the football team. However, star players Jeff (Nicholas Galitzine) and Tim (Miles Fowler) are only believable as hyper-masculine jocks in a universe overseen by John Waters. Meanwhile, Rachel Sennott and Ayo Edebiri are amusing at portraying high schoolers, given they’re nearing their 30s. Mr. G is their clueless but supportive history teacher. Former NFL running back for the Seattle Seahawks, Marshawn Lynch, is an unconventional choice in the role. He is a standout.

Every generation gets its version of the teen sex comedy. One critic called this “the horniest, bloodiest high school movie of the 21st century.” Whether you think that’s a compliment will determine your enjoyment. The film’s marketing team clearly thought so and used it in their advertising. Director Emma Seligman and star Rachel Sennott were also responsible for the critically acclaimed Shiva Baby. Bottoms premiered at South by Southwest on March 11 and received an enthusiastic response from the festival crowd. The $11.3 million budgeted indie produced by Orion Pictures has earned close to $6 million at the box office over 14 days.

You’ve seen the blueprint before. The screenplay, co-written by Emma Seligman and Rachel Sennott, draws from various influences. Mix in Heathers, American Pie, But I’m a Cheerleader and Mean Girls. But I’d say that Bottoms most closely resembles Superbad. Jonah Hill’s character, Seth, was a lewd, manipulative, lying creep. He is now a She, but it doesn’t make the character any more endearing. It’s been 16 years. If gender-flipping Seth into PJ is your idea of progress, then Bottotms will be tops.

08-31-23