BOOKSMART [BLU-RAY] (2019)

SYNOPSIS: Told from a wildly original, fresh and modern perspective, Booksmart is an unfiltered comedy about high school best friends and the bonds we create that last a lifetime. Capturing the spirit of our times, the film is a coming of age story for a new generation. 

MOVIE REVIEW:

Actress turned director Olivia Wilde’s (Tron: LegacyCowboys & Aliens) directorial debut is a spin on the raunchy coming-of-age story which Hollywood is fond of doing. Instead of boys or man-boys, Booksmart tells the story of BFFs, Molly (Beanie Feldstein) and Amy (Kaitlyn Dever) and their last night before graduation. 

Molly and Amy are two best friends who has been so focused on their studies that they forgot how to party and have fun. So, in a blatant attempt to prove their peers wrong, the two friends decide to attend a graduation party held by their schoolmate Nick. Expectedly, things went south and our two friends discover that there is more at stake than just sexuality and dreams.   

Consider the original screenplay was written and revised by different writers over a decade, in the hands of Wilde, Booksmart turned out to be a laugh-out-loud, often insane look at female friendship. From the perspective of Molly and Amy alone, there’re so much themes being discussed here though it’s often peppered with crude humor and vulgarities courtesy of Molly. First there’s Amy’s crush on a fellow cool classmate, Ryan. Amy by the way has come out since the tenth grade but though proud of her own sexuality, she has a problem with romance.     

Molly on the other hand is the typical overachiever and overconfident young lass who thought Harvard and Yale is everything but apparently not realizing her fellow peers whom she thought has wasted their lives away are also going places liked Google and Columbia. Then there is a time-bomb hidden inbetween their friendship, Amy is secretly finding Molly too controlling and manipulative that she is going away to Africa to do charitable works for a year.       

While many compared this to Greg Mottola’s Superbad (coincidentally starring Feldstein’s real-life brother, Jonah Hill), Booksmart relies less on silly gags and gross-out humor. Most of the laughs are derived from the rapid-fire conversations between Molly and Amy. The writing is witty and spot-on and the chemistry between Feldstein and Dever is contagious. The rest of the supporting cast are fantastic as well while the adults cast including Wilde’s partner, Jason Sudeikis, Lisa Kudrow and Will Forte have very limited screentime.  

For a flick about teens, Booksmart for sure is not anything groundbreaking. Yet it’s smart and genuine enough to bring in the laughs, a strong feminist message and do all nerds proud. There’s even a hilarious stop-motion segment that features Barbie dolls on drugs. We definitely have no issue recommending Wilde’s debut but for those who find LGBT theme a bit offensive, then you need to approach Booksmart with caution.   

SPECIAL FEATURES:

Director Olivia Wilde provides an insightful Audio Commentary on the story, cast performances and many more. 

Three brief Deleted Scenes are included. 

Booksmart: The Next 'Best High School Comedy
 is a 17 minutes making of.

Pliés and Jazz Hands: The Dance Fantasy takes a behind-the-scene look at one of the movie’s key sequence.

Dressing Booksmart
 talks about the movie’s wardrobe in addition to a Photo Gallery and Booksmart Theatrical Trailer.

AUDIO/VISUAL:

Booksmart bluray features a solid visual presentation where every detail, intended color and skin tones are projected richly on screen. The DTS-HD Master Audio 5.1 offers impressive music tracks and solid balanced dialogue.  

MOVIE RATING:

DVD RATING :

Review by Linus Tee



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