Genre popularity in cinema ebbs and flows with the time, but coming-of-age stories and romantic comedies have pulled in audiences throughout the decades. In her feature film debut, Booksmart, Olivia Wilde wanted to tell a new kind of coming-of-age story, one that centered Generation Z and female friendships. What she delivered was a thrilling and witty teen flick about our assumptions, that terrifying moment between adolescence and adulthood, and our true soul mates.
Booksmart follows senior class President Molly (Beanie Feldstein) and her bestie, Amy (Kaitlyn Dever), obsessed with getting into good colleges, the pair have shunned fun and teenage whimsey for academic success. However, after an unsettling revelation that shows her she probably didn’t have to choose, Molly dives headfirst into an evening of balls-to-the-walls fun, and debauchery, dragging the reluctant Amy along for the ride. Booksmart is magnificent. Feldstein and Dever are hilarious and delightful–riffing off of their eclectic classmates. There is the terrifying rich girl, Gigi (Billie Lourd), the elusive Hope (Diana Silvers), Jared (Skyler Gisondo), who might be in love with Molly, and of course some weird ass theater kids (Austin Crute and Noah Galvin). A near home run of a debut feature, Wilde presents modern day versions of the kids you might have known during your high school days. However, in Booksmart she gives them room to play and expand on screen.
STYLECASTER was present at a recent screening of Booksmart where Wild and screenwriter Katie Silberman discussed why it was so important for them to tell this bold feminist story.
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