bottoms

Film, 2023

Directed by: Emma Seligman
Written by: Emma Seligman and Rachel Sennott

Did I like this movie at all? No. However, I’m self-aware enough to recognize that I am not the target demographic. If you’re young, or just love cringe or “loser” comedy, then this rollicking, high-spirited, somewhat insane ride will be just your thing. Think esbian version of all those hetero comedies about losing your virginity to the person of your dreams, from Porky’s, through American Pie, and everything in between.

That being said, if you make a like for like comparison with Bottoms and something like Booksmart, or even Crush, there’s night and day between them in terms of writing and establishing emotional connection. Still, there’s plenty of nerdy, funny queer kids out there who will feel completely seen by this.

So – here’s the deal in case you are not quite sure what all this is about. PJ (co-writer Rachel Sennott) and Josie (the always-great even in things that aren’t worthy of her Ayo Edibiri) are best friends lusting after a couple of cheerleaders. (Isn’t the cheerleader thing done to death? Just saying.)

After a misunderstanding involving a football player (Nicolas Galitzine who is everywhere right now) they are mistaken for badasses and proceed to try and get girls by starting their own fight club. The first rule of this club is that everyone must talk about it, or else how will people know they are now cool? Only, it spirals out of control, especially once the loopy Hazel (our Disney princess Ruby Cruz) and other madcap girls get involved.

Radical feminist empowerment this is not. Just by adding queer people to a story doesn’t make it less insane, or even comprehensible. The plot swings wildly for the fences and is oddly violent for a high school movie. Look, I love a good Total Eclipse of the Heart sequence as much as anyone, and honestly this is easily the best scene in this film, but even that wasn’t enough to stop the twitch I had to fast forward constantly through the skin-crawling awkwardness, which I admittedly have a low tolerance for.

I get it though, we deserve our trash as much as anyone. It was high time we started getting our share of this genre, and I’m utterly glad it exists for that reason alone. This is going to be great for queer kids who are crying out for representation in high school (but hey, maybe watch Clea Duvall’s High School series instead?) or anyone who is tired of super-serious queer cinema. Everything doesn’t have to be life or death.

Bottoms relies on fast-paced cuts and constant, almost stream of consciousness dialogue. It zigs and zags so fast that most of the actually funny, incisive humor gets completely lost in the muck.

But the way some lesbian critics, and many straight ones, have been fawning over Bottoms made me anticipate some kind of second coming of lesbian Jesus. I’ve even read that it “flips the script” on the genre. It doesn’t. It falls into the same well-worn tropes as all the others. It’s not a great film—it’s a way to while away some time and has not progressed the cause of queer cinema forward one inch. My only issue is that I think maybe it was meant to.

Go in knowing it’s an absurd, unhinged, horny-as-fuck, nutty thing that devolves into absolute chaotic plot hell. Relax, have fun with it, and if that’s what you’re looking for, you’ll love it.