Look, ‘Superbad with girls’ is a super lazy way of describing Booksmart, the new teen comedy getting absolute rave reviews after premiering at South by Southwest.
But it’s not entirely inaccurate.
The key difference, of course, is that instead of a couple of desperate boys who are feeling a bit put out that nobody’s ever put out for them, it’s a couple of girls who have been super focused on killing it at school and then decide to go out and get a whole high school career’s worth of mischief done in one night.
Just in the trailer, there’s an extended bit about scissoring, Lisa Kudrow assuming “Korean face mask” is a lesbian sex thing, an unexplained 3D animated moment with two dolls screaming at one another in horror, and a girl bragging about being amazing at handjobs and getting good grades.
(In case you were wondering: yes, that’s Beanie Feldstein from Lady Bird, who happens to be Jonah Hill’s younger sister.)
And the hype is extremely real.
Maybe I finally caught the hype bug but I feel like I just witnessed the premiere of a future teen movie classic … LADY BIRD and SUPERBAD. Olivia Wilde fucking crushed it
— Emily Yoshida (@emilyyoshida) March 11, 2019
Holy smokes, Olivia Wilde’s #Booksmart is stupendous. If you were an extremely uncool girl in high school, this will hit you right in the heart. I howled with laughter – screamed really tbh – and leaked tears throughout. #SXSW ?????
— Angie J. Han (@ajhan) March 11, 2019
Seriously, get ready to talk about BOOKSMART all year. Olivia Wilde has a VOICE as a filmmaker. It’s so exciting! #SXSW
— Adam B. Vary (@adambvary) March 11, 2019
It may be about girls, but it sounds like it’s for everyone.
#Booksmart is a coming of age, like…masterpiece? @BeanieFeldstein is a goddamn STAR. This movie just added years to my life.
— Kevin Fallon (@kpfallon) March 11, 2019
This is already my favourite scene of 2019 and I haven't even seen the film yet! If it turns out to be anywhere near as good as the trailer, @Booksmart could be a future classic ???@BeanieFeldstein @oliviawilde #BooksmartMovie pic.twitter.com/iDVMi8fQbx
— David Opie (@DavidOpie) March 11, 2019
And yes, it’s also the directorial debut of Olivia Wilde, who you may remember from heaps of things but, let’s be honest, mostly from your bisexual awakening AKA when she dated Marissa on The O.C.
Plus, it’s super refreshing to see a young queer lead just being allowed to pine over cute crushes instead of just agonising about coming out. Great coming-out stories are needed in teen romcom land – but so are stories where queer kids just get to live life joyously, surrounded by supportive friends and family.
Even if they insist scissoring is a thing.
Booksmart is out May 24 in the US, and July 11 in Australia.