We’ll be the first to admit that it’s reductive to simply describe upcoming high school party comedy Booksmart as a “female Superbad,” but the comparisons are literally impossible to avoid. Not only does the Olivia Wilde-directed film focus on a pair of graduating senior girls as they try to hit some parties and prove they’re cool before graduation, it even seems to be set to a funky/soul music soundtrack, and it stars none other than rising star Beanie Feldstein … the biological sister of Superbad’s own Jonah Hill. It’s as if the 25-year-old starlet is taking the exact same path as her brother into the spotlight.
Now, you can see for yourself if those comparisons are accurate, as studio Annapurna Pictures has uploaded the first six minutes of Booksmart to YouTube, for all to see. Since premiering at SXSW, the film has received essentially universal acclaim, currently maintaining a 100 percent on review aggregator Rotten Tomatoes with more than 50 reviews counted. That’s like … Pixar territory, folks.
Booksmart stars Feldstein and co-star Kaitlyn Dever as high school pair Amy and Molly, a duo of nerdy, fairly unpopular overachievers who decide to live a little before their graduation. Watching the first six minutes, the Superbad influence shows itself in the liberal use of F-bombs and sexually explicit language, although it actually feels like an even bigger influence might be the fancifully exaggerated high school clique caricatures of a film like Mean Girls. The drama kids in this clip certainly feel like they could have fit in alongside Lindsay Lohan and co., anyway.
The film certainly seems to be continuing Feldstein’s upward trajectory in particular. The actress first broke out in Greta Gerwig’s Lady Bird, playing the downtrodden best friend of the title character, and she’s also currently appearing (hilariously) as a struggling, fledgling vampire on FX’s What We Do in the Shadows.
Booksmart is headed to theaters soon, arriving in wide release on May 24. Check out the first six minutes below.