Bottoms (2023)
Let's get the "female Superbad" label out of the way right now, because it's both accurate and reductive in equal measure. Yes, Bottoms absolutely belongs in that specific, highly coveted corner of chaotic, hormone-fuelled teen cinema alongside the likes of Booksmart. But the moment you clock Rachel Sennott in the opening minutes, you realise this thing has something most of its peers don't: a comic performer operating on a frequency entirely her own.
I was already a massive fan of Sennott's neurotic brilliance after watching her in Shiva Baby, and she's quickly become one of the actors I'm most excited to follow working today. Here, she co-wrote the script and stars, bringing a brilliantly unhinged, deadpan energy that anchors the whole absurd premise. There's a particular kind of confidence required to play a character this oblivious and self-serving and still make the audience root for her. Sennott has it in spades. Emma Seligman directs with a sharp, almost reckless energy that matches her lead perfectly, and together they've made something that feels genuinely alive in a way that a lot of modern comedy simply doesn't.
What's most impressive is how brazenly the film wears its influences. Seligman has clearly spent serious time with But I'm a Cheerleader, Mean Girls, and, somewhat bafflingly, Fight Club. That last one shouldn't work. And yet, rather than feeling like a cynical grab bag of references, she mashes these elements together into something entirely its own. It's an unapologetically queer high school comedy that commits to its absurdist logic with total conviction, and crucially, it knows exactly when to cut to black. Not a single second is wasted. In an era when comedies routinely outstay their welcome by half an hour, that kind of discipline is genuinely refreshing.
The laughs, too, are proper ones. The kind that sneak up on you and land before you've had time to see them coming. The comedic delivery across the whole cast is razor-sharp, and there's a gleeful stupidity to the escalating set pieces that I found completely irresistible. When a film is this committed to its own daftness, it earns a lot of goodwill.
I'll admit there's one angle that left me shifting in my seat. The premise, two unpopular girls starting a self-defence fight club at school, eventually tips into territory involving the protagonists arming their classmates with explosives. The escalation is clearly meant to be part of the rising absurdist comedy, and I understand what Seligman is going for. But those specific jokes landed with a slightly uncomfortable thud for me. Given the very real, very grim anxieties that surround school safety in the world outside the cinema, that particular thread pulled me out of the otherwise breezy, satirical tone more than once. It's a misstep, and I think the film would've been sharper without it.
But here's the thing: that's a relatively minor complaint against a runtime that's otherwise relentlessly entertaining. The rest of Bottoms is so funny, so fiercely original, and so unapologetically itself that I'm willing to forgive the stumble. It blows the doors off the standard teen movie formula, and it does so with a cast that commits to the bit with absolute, unwavering conviction from first scene to last.
Four stars. Loud, incredibly stupid in the best possible way, and one of the more exciting comedy writing-performing partnerships I've seen in years. Keep an eye on Rachel Sennott. Seriously.
Rating: ★★★★ | Year: 2023 | Watched: 2026-07-23
Where to watch
Watch in the UK
Stream: MGM Plus Amazon Channel
Physical: Amazon UK · Zavvi
Watch in the US
Rent: Amazon Video · Apple TV Store · Google Play Movies · YouTube
Buy: Amazon Video · Apple TV Store · Google Play Movies · YouTube
Physical: Amazon US
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