Bottoms
2023 · Directed by Emma Seligman
Original language: English
- comedy
The story
Unpopular best friends PJ and Josie start a high school self-defense club to meet girls and lose their virginity. They soon find themselves in over their heads when the most popular students start beating each other up in the name of self-defense.
What it’s like
Bright, saturated suburban daylight and flat, deadpan framing give this high school comedy the feel of a sunny American town that has gone slightly off-kilter. Its palette leans on pastel school hallways, glossy gym floors and garish varsity colours, with clean, mostly static compositions that let the awkwardness sit in the frame and linger. The score is peppy and synth-bright, cutting sharply against the chaos. Vibe: gleefully deranged, sharp and warm, a loud fun night in rather than a quiet one. It suits a rowdy group watch, a rainy weekend when you want to laugh out loud, or a comfort rewatch with a friend. The pace is brisk and joke-dense, with bursts of slapstick and crude, frank sex talk throughout. Intensity is high on comic violence, with frequent cartoonish fights, bloody noses and injuries played for laughs, plus strong language and sexual humour; nothing is gentle. The emotional core is a close, loyal friendship between two outsiders, and the arc follows them gaining confidence while their plans spiral. It is for people who want a raunchy, funny, big-hearted teen comedy with a queer sensibility and no restraint.
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