Greater diversity in film has been an issue that has only gained momentum over the past few years and Booksmart is the latest battlefront playing in cinemas throughout the country. The film is the coming of age tale of two affluent young white women and its current ho-hum box office performance has been a contentious topic of discussion among cinephiles this past holiday weekend. But as people of varying opinions debate the support, or lack thereof, for the a film starring and directed by women, has the most important element of filmmaking been lost?
Booksmart follows a pair of friends, Amy (Kaitlyn Dever) and Molly (Beanie Feldstein) who have completed their high school careers as academic stars giving them what they thought was a leg up on their fellow classmates. While in school, Molly overhears a conversation among her peers criticizing her all work and no play lifestyle and personality, making her realize that her and Amy’s school strategy left them without the social memories most high school experiences are made of. In an effort to spend one last night actually having fun without worrying about their studies, Molly convinces Amy to attend the biggest party of their graduation night and hijinks ensue.
Thematically, Booksmart examines the transition from schoolchildren to young adulthood for female high schoolers and the self-realization and social ramifications involved with said continued growth, complete with a comedic spin on the at times heavy topic. The premise can be interesting one but Booksmart fails to bring anything new to the table and the comedic element only works sparingly and mostly with the supporting actors. Confused young, middle class (both lower and upper) awkward/quirky white teen films have inundated the market the past few years so separating your film from the pack requires a fresh and unique spin on the story which this film fails to provide. The lead characters are loquacious, emphasizing the intelligence and capability of young girls which this films seeks to reinforce, but they fail to be consistently funny, likable, or interesting, save for a scene or two such as the auxillary cord scene in the back of an Uber with their school principal Mr. Brown (Jason Sudeikis) and a well done scene featuring the pair appearing as Barbie dolls while high on hallucinogenics. The two characters do execute the film’s climatic scene where the two friends have a blow-up well, in a greatly acted scene that is well-shot by first time director Olivia Wilde. Unfortunately, any dynamism from the two is few and far between. Of the hilarious supporting cast, Billie Lourd is the highlight as the eccentric social butterfly Gigi, stealing every scene she pops up in (literally) with an off-beat comment and drugs to share, whether others want them or not. Jared (Skyler Gisondo) and George (Noah Galvin) also shine as archetypes of the high school try-hard and gay theater kid with George being a more complete character than his friend Alan (Austin Crute) who ventured too far into homosexual stereotype for my tastes, and Jared providing some emotional balance and character development for the film.
More than anything, Booksmart made me think about our current moment in film criticism and the craving for all films to fit neatly in a box of modern progressivism. Those films that are deemed to not toe that line are taken to task, no matter how inaccurately or unfairly, and those that do are lauded and praised as the “important” to the cinematic landscape. As a black person operating in one of the most monochromatic industries in America, I understand the pressing need for more diverse participants and viewpoints across the board in this country, the creation of film being no exception. However, in working toward this goal for greater representation on the big screen, we can’t lose sight of the most important part of film-making; the movie has to be good. Booksmart rolled out to theaters nationwide with rave critical reviews, sporting a 99 percent on Rotten Tomatoes (though you know how we feel about percentage scores in measuring a film’s worth) with tidbits from reviewers describing it as “fresh.” CinemaBabel has an unofficial policy of not mentioning other films in reviews of a separate film, but Booksmart skews so closely to its contemporaries it’s almost impossible not to. It’s central theme not only closely mirrors that of a recent release, one of its two stars, Beanie Feldstein, featured prominently in that film as well. The fact that it does not present anything new or fresh that wasn’t included in Lady Bird just two years ago yet was so lauded brought to mind this phenomena of judging films on a social justice scale before a quality scale. While I appreciate Booksmart’s female screenwriters and director and its representation of young female friendship and coming of age story, a film still has to be good and shouldn’t receive an “A” for effort. It’s not just that lowering our standards in order to see more diverse creatives succeed is insulting to said creatives, it’s that quality alternatives from other diverse creatives do exist (they just may not be well marketed major releases).
Booksmart is a comedy that has some laugh out loud moments and a message regarding the transition from teenage to young adulthood and the new self realizations and relationships that develop from this coming of age. The issue is that the greatest laughs in the film do not come from the main characters in the film but their supporting actors, and that the film’s message is redundant, a poor facsimile from other recent films that are still fresh on our minds. The coming to age tale of quirky white girls is no longer a rarity in film and while greater diversity onscreen is still a necessity, whether a film with this type of plot still qualifies is up for debate. Olivia Wilde, making her directorial debut, presents a few visually vibrant scenes such as an impromptu pool diving scene featuring grand underwater shots and the hallucinogenic tripping scene and blowout argument between Amy and Molly mentioned earlier, but the cinematography is mostly ho-hum. While the need for greater representation is important, the films that push forward this initiative must also have the quality to accompany it.
Image: United Artists Releasing
