'Bottoms' Review: Lesbian Fight Club Teen Comedy is the Knockout of the Summer
R: For crude sexual content, pervasive language and some violence.
Runtime: 1 Hour and 28 minutes
Production Companies: Orion Pictures, Brownstone Productions
Distributor: Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer
Director: Emma Seligman
Writers: Emma Seligman, Rachel Sennott
Cast: Rachel Sennott, Ayo Edebiri, Havana Rose Liu, Kaia Gerber, Nicholas Galitzine, Dagmara Domińczyk, Marshawn Lynch
Release Date: August 25, 2023
It's been a while since an unhinged, raunchy absurdist comedy was released, especially one that catered to the Gen-Z demographic. I'm talking about the gag-a-minute, outrageous, clever-and-silly-on-main comedy. Leave it to Shiva Baby pair Emma Seligman and Rachel Sennott to trade their anxiety-inducing bagels for boxing gloves with Bottoms, a knockout romp of a comedy that tributes comedies of the aughts for today’s Gen-Z Queers. The lesbians got the Revenge of the Nerds comedy they deserved, and Bottoms might become a bigger classic.
It's the beginning of the senior year, and lesbian high schooler BFFs PJ (Rachel Sennott) and Josie (Ayo Edebiri) are ready to get laid. Josie has the hots for Isabel (Havana Liu) and PJ, Isabel's best friend Brittany (Kaia Gerber). The problem is that they're deemed as "ugly, untalented gays" by everyone in their school, including their principal. Also, Isabel is dating their school's star football player, Jeff (Nicholas Galitzine). When Josie and PJ accidentally hit Jeff with their car, they risk getting expelled. But PJ rebukes that it was for her self-defense club. The excuse works, but the duo and their friend Hazel (Ruby Cruz) decide to start the afterschool fight club. Hazel believes it helps her female peers protect themselves from football players, while PJ and Josie use it as an excuse to hook up with cheerleaders.
Seligman was meticulous with her freshman indie pic Shiva Baby, featuring a claustrophobic one-house setting and killer wit in the script, eliciting the most stressful predicament any Jewish bisexual can be in. At first glance of the logline, one would expect Bottoms to be similar to Booksmart. During Bottoms' inciting incident, Josie's car lightly touches Jeff's knee, which turns into a hilariously exaggerated car injury. Seligman lets her freak flag fly via the first of many hysterical gags that only become increasingly sillier by the minute. The film embodies cult classic teenage romps like Wet Hot American Summer and Not Another Teen Movie. These films hardly get made these days, and when they do, it's by those Gen-X comedic writers (the latest being Barb and Star Go to Vista Del Mar).
Seligman, who lists But I'm a Cheerleader as one of her favorite movies, unlocks her inner Jamie Babbit by striking the right balance of absurdly frivolous while still painting her characters as everyday teens. Every corner contains endless jokes, from violent, bloody slapstick to blink-and-you'll-miss-it sight gags that'll leave you laughing till you're out of breath.
Fair credit to husband/wife duo Michelle Jones and Nate Jones, who serve as art director and production designer, respectively. The two make the locations pop with colorful, nostalgic hues, especially Josie and PJ's school, where most of the funniest visual gags lie.
Bottoms marks Seligman and Sennott's first script together, and their friendship and dynamic translate to the page and screen. They achieve that early-2000s nostalgia atmosphere via a tight equilibrium in attention to PJ and Josie's character development alongside the unserious tone it strikes. Without falling into the trappings of pandering to either the contemporary era of now or twenty years ago, the non-gag humor dares to push the envelope in good spirits, mainly stemming from the timid, level-headed Josie and unrestrained PJ's personalities and their horny-motivated scheme. As contemporary as its setting and needle drops featuring King Princess and Charlie XCX (who serves as a score composer alongside Leo Birenberg), it has a timely factor where no facets of the story rely on smartphones.
Like Sennott and Seligman's dynamic, Sennott and Edebiri's effortless onscreen chemistry drives the absurdist humor home. Check out their old Comedy Central web short "Rachel and Ayo Need Dates," demonstrating a quick-fired banter and snappy, sharp dialogue that extends to the big screen. Sennott's trademark mean-girl abrasiveness and Edebiri's earnest awkwardness make for excellent comedy. They've gone so far in their careers, and watching them reunite for the big screen and play their best cards in cinematic form is genuinely inspiring.
Edebiri gets to wear her drama gloves in a few scenes, and she gave me chills with the sheer conviction in the emotion she pours through Josie. She's on a winning streak this year, and I'm here for the Edebiri-aissance we live in now.
The supporting comedic ensemble is equally hilarious. Ruby Cruz, as the moralistic Hazel, operates on wholesome sincerity. Havana Rose Liu, as Josie's crush, Isabel, adds to the tonal bizarreness as she takes the spotlight in gut-busting gags. British Nicholas Galitzine shows off his comedic chops and a damn good American accent as the promiscuous and clueless Jeff.
Marshawn Lynch, who probably has a few MVP honors under his football career, takes the MVP crown as the girls’ teacher/fight club supervisor, Mr. G. He's outright hysterical. I didn't know the man had a comical side to him, and he let it shine, oozing charisma and sharp timing in all his jokes. Put him in more movies; he's a star.
I've seen Bottoms a ridiculous amount of times by now. It’s no surprise this is one of my favorite films of 2023, all bias aside. Bottoms had me roaring at the edge of my seat. Seligman and Sennott are a dream team, like Sofia Coppola and Kirsten Dunst. They’re incredible on their own accord but even better when together.
Bottoms is a painstakingly funny, refreshingly satirical, and downright absurdist celebration of queer empowerment for the underdogs who want to score.
