Whatever raves Emma Seligman’s “Bottoms” got at this past March’s SXSW Film Festival, I took them with a major grain of salt. It happens every year, where a SXSW title gets raved about to no end by the SXSW “bubble” and then, when it is finally unveiled to a mass audience, it bombs.
So, consider me surprised that this praised film, with a 77 on Metacritic and 96% on Rotten Tomatoes, is a pleasantly watchable comedy. It’s not a game changer by any stretch, but the very talented Emma Seligman — whose debut was the wonderful “Shiva Baby” — turns a typical high school comedy into a subversively strange film.
It’s all about managing expectations with this one, which has little in common with the tensely dry humor of “Shiva Baby”. Rather, “Bottoms” is a silly film, tackling familiar material with a keen set of fresh eyes. I loved how it never talks down to us either, nor does it ridicule its characters, preferring to fully embrace its absurdist wholesome nature.
“Bottoms” follows two weirdo teen outcasts (Rachel Sennott and Ayo Edibiri) who keep being bullied by the jocks at their school. In an attempt to get back at them, and “get some cooch,” the girls form an after-school fight club, for women’s self-defense and empowerment, training a group of outcasts.
I’m a big fan of Sennott and Edebiri, so I was instantly won over by their chemistry, and “Bottoms” is mostly their show. Havana Rose Liu is also good as Edebiri’s cheerleader crush. She finds out that her boyfriend is cheating on her and, suddenly, realizes that she’s actually into girls. It’s that kind of film, albeit, one filled with safely delivered humor.
It all plays out like a fresher, R-rated take on the ‘90s high school movie, but with bloody faces, plastic explosives, and Marshawn Lynch? The former NFL-er shows up as a woman-hating history teacher, and, you know what? It works.
It takes a few minutes to get into the wavelength of “Bottoms.” At first you get major “Booksmart” vibes with a bunch of wise-ass high schoolers living in a reality that is clearly overdone, purposely so. However, the comedic set pieces, and the general humor, kind of win you over. It’s fairly clever, engaging and sometimes funny.
The problem I have with “Bottoms” is that there isn’t much meaning to the whole thing. It’s all surface-level theatrics, but maybe that’s alright. Unlike “Shiva Baby,” Seligman avoids the discomfort and instead opts for a strange breed of wholesomeness. It’s not wild enough, stopping short of anarchy, which could have helped elevate it to another tier of quality. [B]
Of course, we all know the rule: take these reactions with a grain of salt rather than treating them as gospel. Still, I will say that the film tested like gangbusters earlier this year, and Lionsgate clearly has confidence.