I believe movies where the plot is simply just two dorky main characters trying to get the girl at the end of the night are painfully overdone. Some of these movies are extremely fun to watch the first few times, such as “Booksmart” and “Superbad”, but the niche gets old and tedious after a while if done incorrectly. However, “Bottoms” did the formula in a hilariously campy and slightly messy way. With a star-stacked Gen-Z cast, the actors were definitely the highlight of the movie.
The movie starts with lesbian best friends PJ (Rachel Sennot) and Josie (Ayo Edebiri) plotting to woo their cheerleader crushes at the fair. The uncomfortableness wafts through the screen in the first five minutes, setting the tone. Flamboyant football player Jeff (Nicholas Galtinzine), has a firm grip over the school, along with a squad of sassy football-playing followers. Though this gag is on the nose, it’s definitely a main source of comedy. Jeff is dating cheerleader Isabelle (Havana Rose Liu), who doubles as Josie’s crush.
When a rumor goes around that the two “ugly, untalented gays” went to juvie, the main characters use this to their advantage and start a fight club to impress their crushes. However, the students get attached to the club, and are heartbroken to find out the reason it started. The story follows a lot of goofy antics following this, which are funny but never punish the main character’s actions.
The somewhat purposefully flimsy script (written by director Emma Seligman and actor Rachel Sennot), combined with plot points drawn out from several other movies was messy and confusing at some points, but overall funny and entertaining. Although I could see what the writers were trying to do, it felt slightly forced and flat for what they were trying to achieve. If you want to see a lighthearted witty movie, and not the groundbreaking lesbian piece of media it was advertised as, “Bottoms” is the movie for you.
