Bottoms: Film Review
It’s been a long time coming but Emma Seligman‘s latest movie, Bottoms, has FINALLY arrived in UK cinemas!
This satirical teen comedy stars Rachel Sennott and Ayo Edebiri as PJ and Josie, two losers on the bottom rung of the social ladder at school. At risk of being suspended, they suggest starting a fight club for the girls at school so they can protect themselves. With the experience they picked up in ‘juvie’, PJ and Josie help empower the girls. But they have an ulterior motive – they want to become popular and get closer to their crushes Isabel (Havana Rose Liu) and Brittany (Kaia Gerber).
I loved Seligman and Sennott’s first collaboration, Shiva Baby, and I had seriously high hopes for Bottoms. But I didn’t like it as much as I wanted to. The concept sounded perfect – Sennott and Edebiri as lesbian liars using deception to win over hot cheerleaders! What’s not to like?! But the execution didn’t consistently work for me.
There were times when it really worked and I laughed out loud a bunch, but the humour was hit-and-miss. Some lines of dialogue, written by Seligman and Sennott, were brilliantly well-observed, sharp, relatable and hilarious but some did not hit. I was always entertained, but it felt really scrappy, inconsistent and all over the place, especially when you compare it to how focused and controlled Shiva Baby was.
As the film progresses, it becomes much darker than your average teen sex comedy. The girls beat each other up, get revenge on a certain boy and protect the football team in a sensationally bloody showdown. It gets pretty wild! Some people might not vibe with this third act but I found it amusing.
Nicholas Galitzine‘s Jeff is a curious character. He is the antithesis of the typical jock – he’s a lame wet blanket in the most OTT way. I could not fathom why he was so popular. Galitzine hammed up his silly character to such a degree that it felt like he was in a different film from everyone else – but I guess it’s all part of the parody.
I have no complaints about the leads. Watching Sennott and Edebiri act opposite each other is a treat. They are friends in real life and the rapport between them is a delight. While their characters’ intentions are not pure at the start of the club and they are super selfish, they are still likeable and it was nice to see them form a sisterhood with the other members.
I expected Bottoms to be a stone-cold banger so I’m gutted it’s not.
In cinemas Friday 3rd November