From director Emma Seligman of Shiva Baby (2020) comes the latest raunchy, horny, and bloody coming-of-age teen film, Bottoms (2023). Compared by many to so many films come before including Easy A (2010), Superbad (2007), and Booksmart (2019), Seligman takes the seeds planted by those before her in the teen comedy, embraces the messy, and turns every dial up by 1000. The film follows two high school best friends, PJ and Josie, as they chase a lie and start a fight club with one goal: to have sex with popular cheerleaders. Embracing coming-of-age through a queer lens, the film never shies away from being an unrestrained, provocative look at the lives of these unpopular teenage lesbians pining over the popular leaders of their school. With stellar performances by Rachel Sennott and Ayo Edebiri, as well as a complete understanding on the filmmaker’s part about where this film stands, Bottoms is sure to become a classic in the genre of coming-of-age teen comedies.

PJ and Josie are known at their school as the untalented, unpopular lesbians. Pining over talented and popular cheerleaders Isabel and Brittany since middle school, and following threats from a rival school, the girls launch a female fight club, chasing a lie that they were in juvenile detention for the summer and are experienced enough to teach other girls how to fight. Spoiler alert: they aren’t. Convincing other girls to join under the guise of female empowerment and strengthening the community of women within the school, PJ and Josie’s attempt to hide their true motivations from the other girls in the group. What follows is a hilarious ride through high school drama, filled with secrets, rage, blood, and sex.

Rachel Sennott and Ayo Edebiri achieve almost perfect portrayals of the untalented, unpopular characters they play. With chemistry that can only be attributed to their year of friendship, dating back to their college days at NYU and their shared TV mini-series from 2020, Rachel and Ayo are Single. Delivering hilarious performances, Sennott and Edebiri perfectly portray their character’s quirky personalities with a more grounded tone, providing a very realistic portrayal of PJ and Josie in high school. This on screen chemistry is furthered by the screenplay written by director Emma Seligman and Sennott, a passion project between best friends spanning over 5 years in collaboration. These real friendships at the core of the film are ingrained into the film, resulting in a comedy that oozes with chemistry and a clear love of the act. Sennott and Edebiri are supported by a wonderful ensemble cast, all who are able to bounce off of each other’s comedic performances to create one thrilling group performance. One stand out is former American football player Marshawn Lynch, playing the girls’ teacher and supervisor of the fight club, who sparks uproars of laughter from audiences each time he graces the screen.

In contrast to many classic coming-of-age stories, Bottoms stands out in its complete embrace of “the grit”. Filled with unlikeable characters as caricatures of the worst people everyone remembers from high school, and bloody and brutal fights between girls in the school gym and on the football field, this unpolished look at high school to portray PJ and Josie’s coming of age sets Bottoms apart from its counterparts in the genre. Seligman is able to tell PJ and Josie’s story in a way that allows them to change completely over the course of the film, as coming-of-age stories often do, while never taking itself too seriously and still embracing the silly jokes and absurd scenarios surrounding coming-of-age in a public high school, especially as a queer youth, not often depicted in such a raw way. Described best as fully embracing the campy nature of the genre and time in history the film exists in, Seligman articulates the anxieties of so many young, queer women coming-of-age in today’s day alongside some of the funniest comedic performances to grace movie screens in years.

Seligman pays homage to so many coming-of-age and teen comedies come before. One highlight is a short clip of a restaurant where Josie and Isabel go to study called “But I’m A Diner”, referencing the classic 1999 lesbian coming-of-age film But I’m A Cheerleader, with a waitress named Natasha, homage to Natasha Lyone the star of the aforementioned 1999 film. These bits of love sprinkled throughout the film for those come before allow Seligman to fully demonstrate how far her love goes for these stories, while simultaneously finding its footing early on ensuring that Bottoms stands on its own amidst references to these greats. At times, the film makes fun of the very genre it exists in, point to its flaws, or playing in new ways with moments that viewers have come to expect in coming-of-age films. This all adds to a stellar viewing experience that will upend the expectations, whether good or bad, of almost anyone who will watch the film.

The film is also uniquely feminist, in the way it utilizes PJ and Josie’s fight club to provide commentary on the state of feminism today, especially in groups of young people. Under the guise of creating a sense of community in their high school between the girls, the fight club is advertised to bring together these girls in a way that will empower them both socially and physically. Posing the question of really what brings women together, and exploring why so often it is the result of shared threat that women face that create a sense of community. Also providing commentary on the ways which modern feminism has taken a turn causing some women to feel they have to fight other women, either online, in conversations with others, or quite literally in Seligman’s Bottoms, in order to be heard and seen, these ideas are presented in a way that never comes off as too self-serious or preachy, but still tie the film together by the end.

Emma Seligman proved herself to be one to watch following her first feature film, Shiva Baby (2020). In her latest film, characters PJ and Josie start a female fight club to attempt to have sex with the popular cheerleaders they have been pining over for years. With stunning performances and on screen chemistry from Rachel Sennott and Ayo Edebiri, as well as a tight and hilarious screenplay, and director Seligman’s clear vision running through the veins of this film, Bottoms is guaranteed to become a classic in the genres of coming-of age, teen comedy, queer, bloody, raunchy film.

Bottoms (2023) is now playing in select theatres across Canada.