David James

People keep calling it "the Superbad but with GIRLS!". Which is extremely reductive and devalues what is one of the best films I've ever seen. It stands on its own, its not Superbad with girls. If anything, Superbad is Booksmart with boys, and is way more of just a dumb fun comedy, whereas Booksmart captures such genuine emotion and drama and angst that all teens go through, so incredibly accurately, while also having intelligent comedy. There's nothing wrong with dumb fun comedy, but Superbad is a Josh Rogan type film, and you know exactly what I mean. Whereas booksmart is so smart, heh. Genuinely it blew me away, I was expecting it to be good, but not THIS good, not to touch me and tickle me in so many ways, yet it did, there's comedy and the comedy parts of it are so incredibly well written and acted. They're several levels above Superbad. It's almost Aaron Sorkin-like dialogue. It has that witty back and forth, it's fresh and original and I've never seen a script quite like this one. It got some genuine bellows of laughter from me, when I basically never laugh out loud when I'm watching anything on my own, even my favourite comedy movies and shows, I don't actually laugh out loud unless I'm watching with a friend or something. But this film managed to get that out of me But then it hits you with these incredibly touching and heartbreaking moments. They feel so real, this is what being a teenager is like, exactly what it's like, never have I seen one so accurate before. I'm 31 but this film feels timeless in its depiction of teenage years. It's not bound to it being a Gen Z film, it's not bound to contemporary references that will be out of date in 5 years. 30 years from now this will still be relevant and accurate. As a guy who is bi (hey that rhymes) the whole aspect nof heartbreak and wishing your crushes were gay but then it turns out they're not, and latching onto anyone who might be, but having this incredible awkwardness and shyness meaning that you never just plainly ask them and nothing ever happens and your heart is broken and you feel left behind whereas all your straight friends are already years ahead of you in sexual experience. Falling in love with your best friend too, which doesn't really happen in this film, but I think every LGBTQ person has gone through that when they were teens. Have I ever seen a coming of age film that depicts that feeling of being a queer teenager as well as this? No. Quite simply no. It's an astounding film. If you want one of the most well written and acted and directed films of the century so far, and perhaps ever, and don't care about genre or premise but just watch any film that is classy and brilliant and touching, then watch this None of this is hyperbole. Maybe it's just me but I was blown away by it. It makes you laugh, it makes you cry, it makes you feel like you've watched a landmark in cinema history. Seriously. It is not Superbad with girls. Don't go into it thinking that. It's so much better. It's so much deeper, so much more complex. Superbad is great but Booksmart is real, it captures a slice of life that anybody can recognise themselves in, because it's so accurate. It's art. Go watch it.