The summer movie season ends on a high note with Bottoms. Directed by Emma Seligman and written by Seligman and Rachel Sennott, Bottoms is the funniest movie of the year. The film follows two queer outcasts, Josie (The Bear's Ayo Edebiri) and PJ (Sennott), a pair of high schoolers who decide the best way to win their crushes over is to start an all-girls fight club. They claim it will help empower women, even if their motivations for starting said club are more selfish than others are led to believe.
Seligman and Sennott are a force to be reckoned with. The script from the two women is one of the funniest comedies in years. Bottoms pulls no punches when it comes to the jokes, finally giving this generation the raunchy, irreverent high school comedy it deserves. It also relishes in the absurdity of its setting. It gives the plot surprising stakes and makes the high school's fight club -- and the need for one -- all the more believable.
While this is a dark comedy that's willing to go big, the script has a solid emotional core, thanks to PJ and Josie's friendship. There's also Josie's romance with Isabel (Havana Rose Liu). This relationship brings a lot of heart to the core dynamics in Bottoms. Audiences will be rooting for Isabel and Josie's relationship to work out thanks to the strong writing and the incredible chemistry between Edebiri and Rose Liu.
Along with the teenage romance, Bottoms is about a group of diverse women finding empowerment, security, and community with one another. While PJ and Josie's intentions are false, that does not diminish how powerful sisterhood and community can be. Bottoms could have easily fallen into the predatory lesbian trope. But Sennott and Seligman developed a thoughtful script that avoids this potential pitfall while delivering a dark romp filled to the brim with complex, hilarious women and queer folk.
Bottoms would not be the laugh-out-loud success it is without the full cast of actors in it. Sennott proves to be a comedic force to be reckoned with. Between her performance in Bodies Bodies Bodies and Bottoms, Sennott continues to impress. Meanwhile, this is Edebiri's year -- between her performance in Bottoms, The Bear, and Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles: Mutant Mayhem, it's all been a stellar showcase for the performer. Edebiri brings an awkward charm to Josie that makes her hilarious and painfully relatable.
It's just as impressive for the supporting cast. Summer Joy Campbell, Ruby Cruz, Virginia Tucker, and Zamani Wilder deliver feral, unapologetic performances that are not short on heart. Kaia Gerber takes what could have been a one-note character in other films and turns Brittany into a nuanced character who audiences laugh with instead of at.
Outside the fight club, there's Jeff (Nicholas Galitzine), a meathead jock who is dumb as rocks in the best way possible. Galitzine takes this role and runs with it at full force, unafraid of being the butt of the joke. Then there is Mr. G (Marshawn Lynch), who is a terrible teacher on paper, but the out-of-pocket things he says are hilarious. By the end of the film, he seems to genuinely care about these kids. It's overall reflective of Bottoms' strong balance of heart and humor. There is not a bad performance in Bottoms, and this is the perfect cast to take an already amazing script to the next level.
Seligman's directing style is exactly what the film industry needs. With her unapologetic voice and vision, she knows exactly when to double down on a joke and when to pull back and let the emotions of the characters come through. Seligman gets remarkable performances from the whole cast, and clearly brought out everyone's best.
No stone is left unturned by Seligman in Bottoms. Beyond the jokes and performances, there are countless visual gags hidden throughout the film. In fact, there are so many, fans should absolutely see this film multiple times to catch them all. On top of that, Seligman has directed one of the most memorable action sequences of the summer. It's remarkable that it just so happens to be in a dark comedy as opposed to an action blockbuster.
Bottoms is this generation's Heathers. Audiences are guaranteed to have a raunchy, bloody fun time in theaters when they see it. This movie is unafraid to deliver messy, problematic queer women and give them the nuance they deserve. Yes, Bottoms is absurd at times, but it is also full of heart. Bottoms deserves to be a mainstream success and will certainly become an instant cult classic.
Bottoms is now playing in theaters.