Bottoms: A Ferociously Funny Teen Sex Satire
Two unpopular queer high school students start a fight club to have sex before graduation.
Emma Seligman and Rachel Sennott have a deep love for teen sex comedies — and possibly even a bone to pick with them — which is evident from their campy, punchy, and queer sendup of high-school comedies, Bottoms. Imagine a horny Heathers and Mean Girls getting high as fuck and bonding — and maybe boning — over Fight Club, Wet Hot American Summer, and Not Another Teen Movie, and you’re close to the kind of gloriously over-the-top fun the film cooks up.
It’s that classic tale of lustful losers desperately trying to get laid, similar to teen-sex staples Porky’s, American Pie, and Superbad (to name a few). But where most films within the genre stake a staunchly male path, Bottoms takes the lesser traveled feminist route and adds a sapphic bend for good measure, striking a perfect median between the current and the nostalgic and delivering a deliriously satirical haymaker that will have you spurting blood and laughter in pretty equal measure.
Empowerment and exploitation collide with explosive force when our pair of lovable losers, PJ and Josie — referred to as the “ugly, untalented gays” — decide to start a fight club in the name of female empowerment — and also to get in the coochies of their cheerleader crushes, Isabel and Brittany. PJ and Josie are at the bottom of Rockbridge Falls High’s social hierarchy (hence the film’s title), and they see their fraudulent defense class (which is also driven by a false rumor that they both spent time in juvie over the summer) as a means of climbing up the social ladder and some into skirts.
They’ve also got to contend with the school’s beloved football team, the Vikings, led by their treasured quarterback Jeff, who’s dating Josie’s crush Isabel, as they prepare for the big game against their violent rivals, Huntington High (who are said to have brutally murdered Rockbridge players year after year). If it sounds wonderfully absurd, that’s because it is! And Seligman and company lean all the way into it while also maintaining a certain level or emotional resonance.
Set in the kind of school where principals and teachers hurl curses and slurs at students without blinking an eye and the football players are perpetually geared up, Bottoms is a film that ironically starts at “11” and keeps steadily cranking the dial higher and higher, eventually culminating in a epically silly football game showdown. Blood will certainly be spilled in this raucous, raunchy, foul-mouthed, and downright hysterical rollercoaster ride — and well before it arrives at its designated climax.
Its story beats play into the genre conventions, but they’re easily eclipsed by its over-the-top nature and bonkers antics, which keep you wondering what kind of surreal and strange event will happen next. Plus, the laughs come so easy and are so frequent in this riotous and raging satire that sharply skewers high school comedies, victimization, violence, misogyny, feminism, and even itself, that you’re not likely to be bothered by any of its perceived familiarity (most of which it finds humorous ways to subvert).
Similar to Greener Grass (a gonzo surrealist-absurdist satire on suburban living), Bottoms satirically slices into its subject matter with a serrated blade of outlandish surrealism and eccentricity. Trading in the Adult-Swim style skit vibe for that of a Comedy Central sketch show, the two films share a surprisingly similar attitude, tone, and aesthetic. Both use bright and shiny cinematography to contrast their darker aspects, but the ferocious, amped-up intensity of Bottoms gives it even more edge.
Seligman fills the film with a lot of energetic camera moves, but is also smart enough to know a film like this is less about flash and more about the razor-sharp writing and OTT performances, and she makes the kind of clever choices that emphasize those at every turn. The casting choices here are also key, and all of the performers go for broke and commit to the camp. Rachel Sennott and Ayo Edebiri shine incredibly bright at the center, exuding a killer chemistry and delivering some fabulous improvisations that will have you doubled over with laughter. There’s also standout supporting performances in Marshawn Lynch, Havana Rose Liu, Kaia Gerber, Ruby Cruz, and Nicholas Galitzine.
High school comedies are notoriously horny, but they’re rarely this hilariously absurd, fun, violent, or sharp-witted. In short, Bottoms absolutely slays. It’s a comedy that doesn’t pull any punches, and it’s sure to sock you right in the funny bone. In many respects, it’s the darker and dirtier side of the self-aware absurdist fun that Barbie cooks up, and it’s further proof that this is the summer of girl power. It’s a supremely silly, pulpy pastiche of 90s teen sex comedies that scratches that nostalgic itch while also delivering something strange, exciting, and new. We were already fans of Sennott, Seligman, and Edebiri, but after this, we’re diehards that will follow them in whatever weird and wild direction they go next.
Recommendation: If Barbie was too clean and pink, and you’re looking for a more sex-obsessed comedy with a gnashing bite, look no further than Bottoms. It’s got instant cult appeal written all over it, and it‘s a film you’ll likely see near the top of our end-of-the-year list.
Horny for more?! Check out the links below:
Bottoms Q&A w/Emma Seligman, Max Handelman, and Alison Small
Shiva Baby review
Bodies Bodies Bodies review
Theater Camp review
What do you think? We want to know. Share your thoughts and feelings in the comments section below, and as always, remember to viddy well!