As someone who voraciously consumes any product of the Rachel Sennott universe, “Bottoms” was one of my most anticipated films of the year.
Directed by Emma Seligman and co-written by Sennott, the film follows two queer high school best friends — PJ (Sennott) and Josie (Ayo Edebiri) — who start a fight club, under the guise of self-defense and female empowerment to try to hook up with cheerleaders before graduation.
Before I dive into my review of this masterpiece, it only feels right to pay homage to the lore behind the film.
I was first introduced to the dynamic duo that is Sennott and Seligman through Seligman’s 2020 directorial debut “Siva Baby” — the most anxiety-inducing non-horror film I have ever seen, yet also a comedy my soul feels tied to.
On the other hand, I was first introduced to Edebiri as Chef Sydney Adamu from Hulu’s hit series “The Bear” — also the most anxiety-inducing non-horror show I have ever seen that is still somehow categorized as a “comedy” at the Emmys.
The announcement of this cast felt like a mystical meeting of my Letterboxd family all together on the big screen at last, so imagine my surprise when I learned the true origin of this it-girl comedy troupe.
Seligman, Sennott and Edebiri all met as college students at NYU, with Seligman’s original idea for “Bottoms” coming together in 2018 — predating the trio’s separate successes.
Finding out about this felt like the time I discovered that Robert Pattinson, Andrew Garfield and Eddie Redmayne were all roommates before they found fame — the web in my brain is never-ending.
While the script for “Bottoms” was picked up in 2020 after the success of “Shiva Baby,” Seligman initially had difficulties selling the film to studios due to its unabashed vulgarity and sexuality.
“A lot of the feedback we got over the course of making the movie was, ‘I can’t believe girls are saying this,’” producer Alison Small said in an interview with Vulture.
When I first read this quote, before having seen the film, I truly struggled to think of what in the script could warrant this response, but now I know exactly what they meant — and that is what makes “Bottoms” so good.
From its synopsis, the film feels like it could easily be any other high school coming-of-age comedy, but Seligman’s commitment to the ludicrously absurd was genuinely shocking in the best way. The film pulls no punches — literally.
“The challenge of trying to keep this absurd tone while also keeping it grounded has been really rewarding,” Seligman said in an interview with MGM Studios.
From literally explosive heists to elaborate lies about juvie to a gigantic football-themed mural of Michelangelo’s “Creation of Adam” displayed behind the football team’s table at the head of the lunchroom “The Last Supper” style, each frame of the film is filled with hilarious choices by Seligman — even down to the smallest details.
I will spare revealing any major spoilers because I would truly do anything to relive the genuinely uncontrollable laughs and gasps I experienced in that theater again.
While the film is an amusingly exaggerated and satirical social commentary, it is also raunchy, bloody, vulgar and an extremely refreshing take on imperfect female characters — especially queer characters — who often bear the unfair weight of being the perfect model of representation. It is also extremely funny.
In the words of Edebiri at the SXSW premiere of “Bottoms,” “Sometimes we don’t get to be funny we have to, like, give a message, and I think the message is like, we’re funny.”
Rating: 5/5 stars
