There was a very interesting interview making its rounds this week, and one of the questions asked was in relation to how it feels to always be competing with ones first feature. The example given was Sam Mendes whose first directed movie was American Beauty, while Shiva Baby didn’t garner Oscar attention (an honest shame) it is recognized as a very traumatic and horrifying movie that simply captures its audience. Emma Seligman is back with what appears to be her now creative muse and partner, Rachel Sennott and the two of them deliver one of the funniest movies of the year and arguably one of the best teen comedies of the past decade in Bottoms. I wish I could say I came up with the idea of calling it a gay Fight Club or gay Mean Girls, but I didn’t but completely agree with the sentiments.
The movie focuses on friends Josie (Ayo Edebri) and PJ (Rachel Sennott) as they’re trying to get close to and inevitably hookup with their crushes, Isabel (Havana Rose Liu) and Brittany (Kaia Gerber). As things escalate between these self-described unattractive outcasts (yeah lets all believe Rachel Sennott and Ayo Edebri are unattractive, okay) they decide to create a fight club to help the girls in school defend themselves against another school’s football team as they’re going to inevitably be the targets of their hazing and antics. However, not everyone is on board with the idea of a women fight club, including Tim (Miles Fowler) whose on the football team and to an extent Jeff (Nicholas Galtzine) whose the quarter back and Isabel’s boyfriend.
While the film certainly boosts a feminist gaze into the teen sex comedy (something that was sort of very much needed), it is as funny if not funnier than any of those drunken comedies or stoner flicks. Rachel Sennott and Emma Seligman who co-wrote the film simply bring one of the best teen comedies to the forefront and will have people talking about Bottoms for literal decades to come, it is simply an ingenious comedy that hits all the marks.
However, as great as a comedy can be on paper and in direction, if the cast cannot deliver than there really is nothing to talk about. Thankfully, Rachel, Ayo, Havana, Kaia, Miles, and Nicholas all bring their A-game and deliver performances that simply will leave the audience keeled over with laughter. However, the true MVP of the movie (and one in his career professionally as well) is Marshawn Lynch. Lynch manages to be the standout of the film whenever he is present despite being up against and with heavyweights, proving further that the script here is sound far beyond the comedy it packs within itself.
Bottoms is one of the, if not the best movie of the summer and will have audiences holding themselves together as the movie ends from the uproarious laughter they’ve endured for the 92 minutes of sheer hilarity and heart. If Emma Seligman keeps managing to knock out bangers after bangers, and continues her relationship with Rachel Sennott then there truly will be a new Hollywood ‘IT’ couple in terms of creativity and brilliance.
