As the credits rolled at the end of Shiva Baby back in 2021, I contemplated an immediate re-watch. I didn’t want the good times to end. This progressive, cool girl comedy that filmmaker Emma Seligman so effortlessly brought to life (in her directorial debut, no less) had reawakened a part of me that had been dormant for some time. This was the type of movie that spoke to me, and I wanted more of it! Luckily, her sophomore feature, Bottoms, lives up to the hype. After a World Premiere at the 2023 SXSW Film Festival – where the film was nominated for an Audience Award – Bottoms is coming to theaters on Friday, August 25th.
Exploring sexuality is a recurring theme throughout 28-year-old writer/director Emma Seligman’s relatively short repertoire. In Bottoms, which was co-written by her Shiva Baby collaborator and the film’s co-lead actor Rachel Sennott (The Idol, Bodies Bodies, Bodies), two high school outsiders attempt to lose their virginity by devising a sneaky plan to get close to their crushes which, to no surprise, inevitably turns into complete and utter chaos.
Rachel Sennott and Ayo Edebiri (The Bear) play PJ and Josie, best friends about to enter another dreadful year of high school. Both proudly queer, and sexually frustrated, they have the unconventional idea to start a fight club in an attempt to get close to Isabel (Havana Rose Liu) and Brittany (Kaia Gerber), the hot cheerleaders and most popular girls in school. Like Cady Heron infiltrating into the “Plastics” orbit in Mean Girls, PJ and Josie bask in the sweet victory of success. Girls of all social circles are flooding to their self-defense class, literally throwing themselves at each other during made-up games of floor wrestling and slap fighting. Long gone are the days of being called just “gay, untalented, and ugly.” The popular girls are finally paying attention. Of course, things don’t stay perfect forever as the football team intercepts PJ and Josie’s long con, threatening to expose them for the horny teenagers they really are.
There are many factors that can be attributed to the success of Bottoms, especially the quick-witted and sharp banter between Sennott and Edebiri. Together they are magnetic, exuding this instant familiarity that draws us in and doesn’t let us go. Their comedic timing is spot-on, and the dialogue delivery hits every time. The script, co-written by Seligman and Sennott, is the right amount of self-aware and gut-punch funny. Subtle one-off comments said under the breath, like “You don’t care about feminism, your favorite show is Entourage”, are some of the film’s most memorable moments.
Best of all, Bottoms evokes a sense of nostalgia for rom-coms of the past. Imagine Superbad, Bring It On, and American Pie told through the lens of queer, sexually starved high school girls. Adding to the sense of female empowerment is seeing how many women contributed to the making of Bottoms behind the scenes and leading departments such as cinematography (Maria Rusche), editing (Hanna Park), casting (Maribeth Fox), and art direction (Michelle Jones).
Bottoms is a film for the girls, for the alt-Barbie crowd. A fierce soundtrack – which includes a perfectly-placed Avril Lavigne “Complicated” sync – and an original score by Leo Birenberg and Charli XCX is the perfect companion to the film’s fast-paced, frenetic energy. It’s definitely worth staying through the entire film so you don’t miss the bloopers and outtakes that are sprinkled throughout the end credits.
If you’re looking for the perfect back-to-school raunchy rom-com, make sure Bottoms is on the top of your watchlist.
