In Olivia Wilde,’s wildly successful comedy Booksmart, Molly (Beanie Feldstein) and Amy (Kaitlyn Dever) play super-achieving kids who have followed every rule and refused to be distracted by high school frivolity; appalled to learn that their more conventionally fun-loving classmates have also gotten admitted to elite colleges, Molly and Amy decide to consume four years of teen fun in one night of graduation parties. This is an entirely fresh take on the coming of age film, and a high school graduation party romp like you’ve never seen.
Booksmart is the directorial debut of actress Olivia Wilde, and was written by Emily Halpern, Sarah Haskins, Susanna Fogel and Katie Silberman. The impact of the all-female creative team, to my eyes, is not in any particular scene or character, but woven throughout. These women have gotten the rare chance to make a movie, brought their talent and fresh eyes to it and knocked it out of the park.
Kaitlyn Dever and Beanie Feldstein are special talents. Dever played one of the most compelling characters in TV’s Justified as Loretta McCready and was excellent in the Lynne Shelton drama Outside In. Feldstein sparkled as the protagonist’s high school best friend in Lady Bird. Here’s a particularly fun NYT interview with Dever and Feldstein.
Others in the relatively underseen cast – especially Diana Silvers, Molly Gordon, Billie Lourd, Austin Crute, Noah Galvin and the skateboarder Victoria Ruesga – bring interesting presences to the film. One wonders if Booksmart will become an American Graffiti/Animal House/Fast Times at Ridgemont High/The Breakfast Club phenomenon, and launch a cohort of movie careers.
Booksmart is smart, funny and a very fulfilling start to 2019’s slate of summer movies.