Beanie Feldstein | Scott's Film Reviews-1,476 Reviews posted!!! COMING SOON-MY TOP 250 FILMS!!

Booksmart-2019

Director-Olivia Wilde

Starring-Beanie Feldstein, Kaitlyn Dever

Scott’s Review #1,113

Reviewed February 17, 2021

Grade: A-

I usually avoid teenage coming-of-age comedies or more to the point, being not of that demographic, they are not usually even on my radar.

The only reason I saw Booksmart (2019) is for the Independent Spirit Award it won and the Golden Globe nomination it achieved. Still, I was skeptical of what the appeal of two female teenage bookworms who decide to become party animals would have on me.

Boy, was I wrong? The film is a fabulous and fast-paced experience that I enjoyed immensely.

Director, Olivia Wilde, in her very first effort, believe it or not, delivers the goods. She takes a genre told to death and knocks it on its keester offering a fresh and creative spin on a tried and true formula that feels anything but formulaic.

There is diversity, inclusiveness, and heart for miles without the feeling that these add-ons were done intentionally for a modern spin.

Before I get carried away too much Wilde carefully keeps the standard moments of teenage angst, rejection, breakups, and makeups, and there are one or two of the commonplace high school “types”- loner, jock, weirdo, etc. but evident is a strong LGBTQ+ stronghold including one of the main female characters. Booksmart sure feels authentic to me.

Molly (Beanie Feldstein) and Amy are forever friends. The girl’s study, they giggle, they hang out, and they tell each other about their problems, sexual and otherwise. The kicker is that Molly is straight and Amy is gay. Amy is happily “out” and nobody gives a damn.

Her parents, played in small but juicy parts by Will Forte and Lisa Kudrow are hilarious and progressive in their approach to understanding a gay child. They incorrectly assume that Molly and Amy are a couple which the girls use to their advantage.

Anyway, Amy and Molly are intelligent and anticipate graduation day and going off to great schools. Once they realize that their fellow students who in their minds slack off and party are also going off to Ivy League schools, they panic.

They realize they have wasted four years studying and decide to let finally let their hair down the night before graduation, intent on attending a popular boy’s (and Molly’s crush) party.

The situations the duo get themselves into are clever and witty and the most fun of the film. Feldstein and Dever have exceptional chemistry and I bought them as best friends from the moment of their first scene. When they have a knock-down, drag-out argument towards the end of the film it’s acting at its finest, which made me feel proud.

I admire young talent with great acting chops and pride in their craft and Feldstein and Dever both have it.

Wilde peppers much of the film with hip and trendy pop songs that surprisingly enhance rather than slow down or take away from the viewer’s enjoyment. The lyrics match the specific events of the particular scene.

The romanticism is pivotal as the crushes Molly and Amy have are not necessarily who they wind up with at the end of the film, which naturally culminates on graduation day. I love how their ceremony includes no parents.

The creativity within Booksmart is admirable. When Molly and Amy trip on a hallucinogenic they accidentally ingest they imagine they are barbie dolls. The scene is laden with hilarity as they bend and twist and turn. Later, Molly imagines a dance with Nick amid a colorful, slow-motion sequence that is beautiful, while Amy has an awkward unexpected sexual experience with a mean girl.

Booksmart (2019) is quite R-rated almost shockingly so, which is not a negative. It’s a positive. Too many films of this ilk try to soften how teenagers speak and the feelings they have which are usually sexual.

It’s raunchy and not for the younger teen set but mature audiences will reminiscence about their high school days.

Independent Spirit Award Nominations: Best First Feature (won)

Lady Bird-2017

Director Greta Gerwig

Starring Saoirse Ronan, Laurie Metcalf

Scott’s Review #700

Reviewed November 28, 2017

Grade: A

Lady Bird is a 2017 independent film released by actor-turned-writer/director Greta Gerwig. It is a tremendous effort in her solo directorial debut.

No stranger to the indie syndicate herself, Gerwig puts her unique stamp on the film with a rich, female-centered perspective that works quite well and seeps with charm and wit.

It is worth noting that the story is semi-autobiographical, based on Gerwig’s life and her stormy dealings with her mother. The story is well-written, well-paced, and empathetic as the audience views a slice of life through the eyes of a restless yet kindly teenager on the cusp of womanhood.

Saoirse Ronan gives a bravura performance in the title role. Her given birth name is Christine, but she defiantly changes it to Lady Bird in a show of adolescent independence, and much to her parents, Marion and Larry’s (Laurie Metcalf and Tracy Letts ) chagrin.

Christine lives in suburban Sacramento, California, and yearns for a more exciting life in New York City, far from what she considers Dullsville, USA. Now, in her senior year, she is attending a Catholic high school.

Christine applies to college after college, hoping to escape her daily dilemmas. Christine’s best friend Julie and somewhat boyfriend Danny (Lucas Hedges) are along for the ride.

The period is 2002- shortly after 9/11.

The brightest moments in Lady Bird are the plentiful scenes between Christine and her mother. The chemistry between Ronan and Metcalf is terrific, and I genuinely buy them as a real mother/daughter duo, warts and all. They fight makeup, get on each other’s nerves, fight, cry, do makeup, etc.

I especially love their knock-down drag-outs, as each actress stands her ground while allowing the other room to shine—feeding off of each other.

My favorite Metcalf scene occurs while she is alone. Having gotten into a tiff with Christine and giving her the silent treatment while Christine flies to New York, Marion reconsiders as she melts into tears. At the same time, she drives away, regretting her decision and missing her daughter already.

Metcalf fills the scene with emotional layers as she does not speak- we watch in awe as her facial expressions tell everything.

Comparably, Ronan—likely to receive her third Oscar nomination at the ripe old age of twenty-three (Atonement, 1997, and Brooklyn, 2015, are the other nods)—successfully gives a layered performance as a teenage girl struggling with her identity and restless to see different worlds and get out of what she sees as a bland city.

Of Irish descent, Ronan is remarkable in her portrayal of a California girl- sometimes selfish, sometimes sarcastic, but always likable and empathetic.

The casting from top to bottom is terrific, as the supporting players lend added meat to the story. Christine’s best friend, Julie, played by young upstart Beanie Feldstein (Jonah Hill’s sister), is compelling as the lovable, chubby, and nerdy theater geek.

Letts is perfect as Christine’s father, depressed at losing his job in the tough economy and having to compete with young talent as he sees his career slip away.

Legendary actress Lois Smith adds heart to Sister Sarah Joan’s role- a by-the-book nun who is an incredible old chick.

Finally, Hedges, seemingly in every film from 2016 to 2017, is emotionally resounding as Danny, Christine’s troubled boyfriend, struggles with his sexuality.

Gerwig does it all with this film—she directs and writes, scripting laugh-out-loud moments and eliciting heartfelt emotion from her enchanted audience.

A hilarious scene occurs as Christine attends a dreary class assembly- an anti-abortion-themed one- by a woman who almost did not exist but for her mother’s decision not to have an abortion.

When a bored Christine icily points out that had the woman’s mother had the abortion, she would not be forced to sit through the assembly, it is a laugh-out-loud moment.

Lady Bird (2017), thanks to a fantastic writer and director and superlative casting, is a film that has its all heart, emotion, humor, and great acting.

The film is intelligently written and forces the audience to embrace its characters quite willingly. Gerwig carves a story, perhaps done many times before in film, but with a fresh and energetic feel.

Oscar Nominations: Best Picture, Best Director-Greta Gerwig, Best Actress-Saoirse Ronan, Best Supporting Actress-Laurie Metcalf, Best Original Screenplay

Independent Spirit Award Nominations: 1 win-Best Feature, Best Female Lead-Saoirse Ronan, Best Supporting Female-Laurie Metcalf, Best Screenplay (won)