Two unpopular queer high-school students start a fight club to have sex before graduation.

‘Bottoms‘, Emma Seligman’s follow up to ‘Shiva Baby’ is a high school comedy, although not quite like any one you’ve ever seen before! It follows two teenage girls at high school who decide to set up a fight club in order to hook up with the cheerleaders, a lesbian spin on the type of premise that generally would have followed a couple of geeky guys in the past in a multitude of past teen comedies. They are PJ, played by Rachel Sennott (who co-wrote with Seligman and also starred in ‘Shiva Baby’), and Josie, played by Ayo Edebiri, who is probably best known for the TV series ‘The Bear’. They are both unpopular girls who

The film begins with an accident when the girls accidentally injure Jeff, the star quarterback and boyfriend of Josie’s love interest Isabel (Havana Rose Liu), putting them at risk of expulsion from school. In their defence they claim they were practicing self defence as part of their female only fight club, forcing them to actually start one for real, initially attracting all their fellow unpopular kids. Word gets around and it attracts some of the popular girls, including Isabel and her best friend Brittany (Kaia Gerber), helping put PJ and Josie’s plan to lose their virginity into action. It also attracts the ire of the boys in the school, creating some friction between the two gender groups in the school, before building to an important American football match that forms the crescendo of the film.

This is definitely an original take on a movie genre that has seen countless movies over the years, and its anchored superbly by Edebiri and Sennott, who is really starting to stand out as a comedic superstar. I really enjoyed the over the top violence that felt like it was straight off the pages of a comic book, and the propulsive score from Charli XCX and Leo Birenberg is a perfect fit for the material. There is a satirical edge to ‘Bottoms’ take on violence and it is testament to Seligman’s direction that she manages to make some sharp points whilst colouring proceedings in a light hearted and comedic tone.

‘Bottoms’ is a fun and enjoyable new teen comedy that brings some freshness to a tired genre.

Rating: 3/5

Directed By: Emma Seligman

Starring: Rachel Sennott, Ayo Edebiri, Ruby Cruz, Havana Rose Liu, Kaia Gerber, Nicholas Galitzine, Miles Fowler, Fiorella Tekin, Marshawn Lynch, Dagmara Dominczyk, Punkie Johnson and Wayne Pere

http://www.imdb.com/title/tt17527468/