Booksmart

What’s it about?

On the eve of high-school graduation, two rule-abiding, straight-A students realise they’ve sacrificed their social lives for the sake of grades. This is their last chance to have fun, and the teenagers more than make up for their previous abstinence with a wild party-hopping night of drugs and debauchery.

Who’s in it?

Beanie Feldstein and Kaitlyn Dever as the wisecracking best friends, bolstered by a colourful supporting cast that includes Billie Lourd as a fiery, feather coat-clad rich kid and a hilariously theatrical, RuPaul-quoting Noah Galvin.

Why should you watch it?

Olivia Wilde’s directorial debut is a triumph: a punchy, progressive comedy that recounts high-school experiences from a decidedly female, sex-positive perspective. Booksmart is anchored by the dorky protagonists’ believable friendship, but is elevated by its diverse ensemble of well-realised characters who never sink into cliché. The movie is also admirably experimental for a studio offering: one scene, in which the girls trip out on hallucinogens, sees them transform into Barbie dolls (making for much feminist commentary from our woke heroines); another imagined dance sequence combines the balletic control of West Side Story with the body-popping of Justin Timberlake.

Who has awards buzz?

High-school comedies don’t typically win Oscars (remember Lady Bird went home empty-handed two years ago), but the Academy is gradually becoming less snobby in its purview as increasingly diverse members are being invited within the revered institution’s historically white, male ranks. With that in mind, Booksmart will hopefully succeed where Eighth Grade failed this year and receive a Best Original Screenplay nomination for its endlessly quotable script.

‘Booksmart’ is available on DVD and digital download now.