Female Film Critics 24/375
Teenage girls would be so much happier and more self-confident if they looked to Beanie Feldstein as their role model instead of one of the Kardashians. The young star of Booksmart returns to the screen – sporting a British accent! – in How To Build a Girl, and she’s an absolute delight.
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We all went to school with a single reason in our minds – to get an education that will help build our life, find a good job, and be successful. Of course, colleges and the universities are just the beginning and there is no time to have fun at all, take it easy, or look around to see what our peers would do. Imagine, at some point, you wake up to find yourself at the podium to receive your diploma after having worked tirelessly, never missed a single book from the local library and look at those who never did what you have done, yet still graduating.
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Do not bother comparing Booksmart with other shows about high school — like Amy Heckerling’s Clueless, like Superbad, or even Happy Days. Booksmart stands firmly on its own as an homage to any young woman who eschewed parties for exam-cramming, who pooh-poohed goofing off for running the student council, who’s denigrated party animals.
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The next great high-school movie is here. Booksmart is that rare treat: a perfect film. Smart, funny, wise, sparkling with wit both visually and in its snappy dialogue, and far, far kinder than we expect from movies about teenagers. Or maybe Booksmart is simply an authentic reflection of These Kids Today. Are they really this nice?
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