The One Change that Would've Made Booksmart an All-Time Classic

by Ryan Scott

I went to high school a very long time ago, like Can’t Hardly Wait long, so I wasn’t expecting to resonate so completely with Booksmart, Olivia Wilde’s directorial debut that’s become widely available this weekend.  It’s been getting crazy buzz since South by Southwest and it almost totally lived up to its billing.

One trait that every lasting high school movie seems to have is an ability to capture what changes at graduation.  The jock, nerd, drama kid, stoner, delinquent labels that seem so fitting through most of high school melt away towards the end.  As you approach graduation and the dawning of “real” life, those things just matter less and you find a camaraderie in your shared experience of transition.

Booksmart, like Can’t Hardly Wait, and a number of other great high school films, clearly defines the stereotypes epitomized by each character, but also leaves those distinctions as background in the larger coming-of-age experiences that follow.  In a way it’s a short cut to backstory that allows the plot to flow.

Beanie Feldstein and Kaitlyn Dever play academic-focused best friends who realize on the eve of graduation that they had no fun in high school and seek to redeem this mistake with one big night of partying.  Nothing special or unique about the plot, but Wilde and the writers found a way to subvert norms and expectations that make a timeless story feel uniquely contemporary.

Booksmart will inevitably be compared to Superbad, partly because Feldstein is Jonah Hill’s actual sister, but also because they present high school friendship (male friendship for Superbad and female friendship in Booksmart) in real ways that intentionally challenge stereotypes.  Superbad rejected machismo and leaned into emotional vulnerability you rarely see from teenage boys; Booksmart allows its girls to be assertive, confident, and a little bit raunchy in realistic and refreshing ways.

The soundtrack is incredible and the acting performances are near perfect.  The supporting players have little to do, but what they have is deep, meaningful, and well-rounded (at least much as is possible in a high school comedy); no one is a cookie cutter and everyone gets their due.  Mike O’Brien’s seemingly random scene as a pizza delivery driver is among the best parts of a great movie, highlighting Booksmart’s intelligence in the midst of its indulgence.

Both Feldstein and Dever get to showcase their talents with particular solo-focused scenes that let each be the movie’s lead for major and important scenes.  They play off each other so tremendously well and showcase a range that’s exciting for both of their futures.

The one letdown for a movie that works so hard to turn away from typical tropes is its embrace of the “main characters have a falling out right before the climax so we can highlight their emotional reconciliation at the end.”

The characters this movie gives us would be honest with each other and mature enough to resolve a real argument without hysterics and anger.  It would be more true to the story and consistent with the overturning of expectations.  The writers, actors, and director showed enough intelligence and creativity in the rest of the film to prove themselves capable of coming through with a better solution.

Still, if that’s the only thing keeping Booksmart from all-time classic status, it’s a tremendous accomplishment.  I can’t imagine a 37 year old in 1999 enjoying Can’t Hardly Wait as much as I enjoyed Booksmart.  It’s a timeless movie that’s also very much of its time; I don’t know what higher compliment I can give.