Emma Seligman’s follow-up to her neurotically, outrageously funny 2020 debut Shiva Baby sees her pair up with best friend and faithful leading lady Rachel Sennott once more, with the 28 year-old actress also stepping into the writer’s chair this time around. Bottoms is a deranged high school comedy about two maladjusted lesbians, PJ and Josie (played by Sennott and The Bear‘s Ayo Edebiri), who essentially start a self-defense club so they can hang out with and seduce cheerleaders.
Bottoms‘ biggest bet is one that ultimately pays off. The movie presents a world with a rule book that ever so slightly deviates from what we consider normal in our own world of reference, where kids beat each other up in school and repeatedly mention murder, suffering little to no consequence for their actions, unless the victim is the darling quarterback of the Vikings, Jeff (played by a hilariously theatrical and over the top Nicholas Galitzine). While there are moments where it wobbles on what tone to adopt given the thin line separating its reality from ours, it generally succeeds in creating a slight discomfort in the viewer which winds up being its biggest comedic asset. It’s never so outrageous that it becomes distracting, but it’s always just a step outside of the line of logic in a way that generates a healthy dose of bewilderment, curiosity, and hearty laughter.
It’s a good thing Bottoms crafts its tone so well, because the plot is not exactly riveting. The girls manage to get popular, thanks to lies and deceit which eventually come out at the hands of a villain whose motive feels rather forced and weak. The fight club breaks up, forcing them both to recognize their mistakes and stop being so self-centered and self-serving. It all eventually works out, thanks to a far-fetched murder plot from the school’s eternal rival Huntington which brings the club back together for a greater purpose. It isn’t new, and you can trace and predict the relevant beats throughout before they happen, but it makes sense that Seligman and Sennott were more focused on nailing the eccentricity of their comedy and dialogues instead, so that that could be the differentiating factor of their film, rather than a twisty or emotionally complex narrative. And it works, the jokes and back-and-forth are so good that you’re happy to forget the shortcomings elsewhere.
It might move away from Shiva Baby‘s existential dread and incisive religious commentary, but it still delivers two deliciously awful, incredibly charismatic leading characters. Sennott and Edebiri, together or apart, are a treasure trove of physical humor and perfect line delivery, with just enough heart to ground their performances. In the case of Bottoms, although Edebiri is allowed more moments to dwell on her character’s vulnerability than her partner, they both very accurately tap into the longing, desperation, and awkwardness of the queer teenage experience. Ruby Cruz as the loyal lost puppy Hazel and Galitzine as the narcissistic himbo Jeff steal the show among the supporting cast – one for displaying the best character development, and the other for simply being hysterical.
There’s also something to be said about Bottoms‘ post-feminist approach to the female experience. Although the film is very much of its time, reveling in its unapologetic gayness, and continuously celebrating the power of women, it is not afraid to go dark with its humor, poking fun at everything from school terrorism to eating disorders, and sexual harassment. They use “female solidarity” as a fake pretense to get girls to join their club when they really just want to get laid, and at one point PJ tells Hazel the first set of club attendees are ugly, only to turn around and tell a man she thinks “all women are hot.” All the while, there’s subtle and quite literally punchy commentary throughout about gender inequality and the ridiculous image the patriarchy has crafted for women.
Bottoms leverages humor and absurdity to present a genuinely multifaceted and refreshing perspective of teenage girlhood that at its core feels more real and attainable than the constructed heavy-handed box-ticking representation typical of the last decade. Even when some of its plot points are totally ridiculous and shocking, the movie finds the sweet spot between having unoccupied fun and standing up for something. It never lets go of one or the other enough to lose them, consistently walking the tricky line in between. Ultimately, however, it’s its leading duo that makes Bottoms such a fantastic movie, making you wish Sennott and Edebiri were cast in everything you watch from now on.
Great
‘Bottoms’ is never afraid to have fun, even when it comes at the cost of a reasonable plot or political correctness. It’s an hysterical teen movie featuring two of the best talents of this generation who have nailed the balance between the ridiculous and the important.
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