The Bottoms film is unlike any other coming of age comedies – review
With a provocative name and unusual premise, Bottoms is director Emma Seligman’s follow up to the critically adored Shiva Baby, reuniting her with that film’s star, Rachel Sennott. The surreal comedy is about two high school best friends, PJ (Sennott) and Josie (Ayo Edebiri). Both girls are gay, spending their final year lusting after the popular girls who don’t give them a second look.
After an altercation with a selfish jock, they hatch a plan to start an after-school fight club under the guise of female empowerment, but it’s really just to meet girls. The club is a hit, but soon their secrets threaten to ruin the fun. The script, co-written by Seligman and Sennott, is relentless in its brashness. Offering a heightened vision of high school, there’s a sinister satire underneath the humour that is reminiscent of films like Heathers.
As with recent hits like Booksmart, the Queerness of the ensemble is effortlessly worked into the storytelling, making this an LGBT+ specific tale that gives a new perspective on universal themes. Most people can relate to the notion of teenage longing, even if few turn to PJ and Josie’s coping methods, but the freshness of the viewpoint prevents it ever becoming trite. Between the comedy fight scenes and foul-mouthed tirades, there’s also a message about the need for community. Nothing gets too serious, but the intentions are certainly sincere.
Edebiri continues her meteoric rise, adding this excellent lead performance to roles in Spider-man: Across The Spider-verse, Theatre Camp and TV hit The Bear. She’s the more straight-laced of the duo, offering deadpan responses to Sennott’s energetic schemes. However, she mixes comedy and drama with ease, perfectly portraying the chaos of young adulthood. Sennott gets to have the most fun as a character who acts first and thinks second, but the pair make a wonderful team as the kind of underdogs you can’t help but root for.
They are surrounded by a brilliantly assembled cast of comedy actors, who subvert the high school stereotypes they appear to represent. Kaia Gerber channels her supermodel mother Cindy Crawford in a small but effective role of the school’s underestimated hot girl, while Havana Rose Liu shines as the object of Josie’s affections. Mare of Easttown star Ruby Cruz is endearing as a slightly disturbed member of the group, while former NFL star Marshawn Lynch grabs a number of laughs as the teacher allowing all this chaos.
Interestingly, most of the LGBT+ characters are played by actors from that community, offering an authenticity to the subject matter that big budget films often struggle to achieve. It’s a joy from start to finish
The Bottoms film is in cinemas now