Booksmart

Remember when high school comedies got stuck in a rut of gross-out jokes and tired cliques? Booksmart punched right through all that. Directed by Olivia Wilde, it follows two over-achieving best friends (Beanie Feldstein and Kaitlyn Dever) who realize, on the night before graduation, that maybe they could have had a little more fun along the way. Cue a wild, desperate scramble to make up for four years of too much studying and not enough rebellion.

What I loved most is how instantly real the friendship feels. Feldstein and Dever are electric together, bouncing from goofy banter to painfully earnest confessions without a false note. Their chemistry is so good that even Booksmart’s weirder detours—a bizarrely spiritual doll hallucination, a boat-party dance-off—don’t feel forced. It’s a film that lets teen awkwardness be funny, ugly, and sometimes even painfully sweet.

The jokes are sharp, smart, and not just recycled from other teen comedies. Billie Lourd as the perpetual wild card Gigi is an absolute scene-stealer, somehow floating in and out of the party mayhem with that manic fairy tale energy that makes you wonder if she’s actually real. The supporting cast is stacked with faces you’ll recognize, but they’re allowed to be more than punchlines. Even the token “mean girl” and “jock” stereotypes get a bit of empathy.

Tonally, Booksmart clings to the line between wild romp and genuine coming-of-age, and mostly manages the balance. Sometimes it leans just a little too hard into hyperactive chaos, which can feel like it’s trying too hard to be different from Superbad (which, let’s be honest, it is kind of riffing on). A few sequences drag—there’s a high school talent show bit that goes on awkwardly long, and the movie could have trimmed five minutes overall.

Still, Wilde’s direction is stylish without screaming “look at me.” Early scenes are packed with visual gags buried in the background, but she’s also got a feel for quieter moments—like a pool party shot that quietly shreds your heart, or an argument between best friends that feels genuinely raw. The soundtrack is great, too, leaning into big synthy tracks that keep things moving.

It’s not a perfect movie but it has real energy and warmth. Booksmart actually remembers what it feels like to be a senior at the edge of everything, desperate and hopeful all at once. It doesn’t reinvent the teen comedy, but it’s easily one of the best of the last decade.