If you think about it, every decade has had at least a few “decade-defining films”. For this decade, I’d choose Booksmart. For example, the 80s had Ferris Bueller, E.T, The Breakfast Club. The 90s had Home Alone, Fight Club and Groundhog Day. The 200’s had Harry Potter. You watch any of these classics and it just takes you back in time. Consider 50 years down the line, somebody wants to get a taste to 2010’s nostalgia. What film would you recommend they watch? I’d suggest Booksmart.
Booksmart may not be the best film of 2019, but it is the film that defines 2019. It’s a film that would not have worked in any other time setting, and it perfectly represents today’s modern world. Booksmart is Olivia Wilde’s directorial debut, and she absolutely kills it with this coming of age film about two girls who wait until the last day of high school to party for the first time. Granted, there’s nothing original about the premise, but the film still feels fresh and is super fun to watch.
Kaitlyn Dever and Beanie Feldstein’ in Booksmart
Despite the whole cast being outstanding, Kaitlyn Dever and Beanie Feldstein’s chemistry shines the brightest in an already glowing film. They play the role of two studious friends who can barely spend a day apart. They realize, however, that despite spending their entire high school life studying while everyone else was out partying, most of the high school ended getting into a good school anyways. So, they use the last day of high school to make up for all the days they lost not partying. It’s a story we’ve heard before, but everything about Booksmart is still so original. The characters in the film are not meant to be relatable, but the film still feels warm and interesting.
One of the reasons for this is definitely the soundtrack. Olivia Wilde did a great job picking the soundtrack for Booksmart, featuring mostly explicit R&B and modern pop, once again reinforcing the fact that this is a 2019 film, and there’s no way we can forget it.
In a time when the most popular films are remakes from bygone era’s, Booksmart stands out as a fresh classic that is a perfect representation of the time it came out.
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