BOTTOMS

Emma Seligman’s BOTTOMS was sold like a wild high school comedy, but that description only tells part of the story. Yes, the setup is ridiculous, two girls start a fight club in order to get closer to the cheerleaders they are obsessed with, but the film is funniest when you watch it less as a youth movie and more as a piece of adult comic insanity. Its jokes are filthy, aggressive, knowingly stupid, and delivered with the kind of precision that makes the whole thing feel like a satire of teen-movie logic rather than a sincere example of it.

A lot of the pleasure comes from the cast. Rachel Sennott is excellent, and Ayo Edebiri, who many people will know and love from THE BEAR, brings exactly the right mix of panic, awkwardness, and total commitment. The ensemble around them understands the tone perfectly, which is why the film keeps getting funnier as it gets more absurd.

After how well SHIVA BABY played here last week, I thought it made perfect sense to show Seligman’s latest comedy as well. Where SHIVA BABY traps its characters in social anxiety and pressure-cooker discomfort, BOTTOMS goes wider, louder, and more openly ridiculous, but you can still feel the same comic intelligence underneath it.