Telling the story of two best friends who are just about to graduate high school, Booksmart follows Molly and Amy as they experience what it means to be reckless teenagers on their last night of high school before going off to college.

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Olivia Wildes’ directorial debut is a powerhouse in the league of coming of age stories, directed with true force and pure honesty of someone who has undoubtably been through very similar situations in her own teens. 

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Full of heart and humour, Booksmart sets the bar of coming of age films for years to come, taking the place of previous cult classics such as Mean Girls, Stand by Me, Superbad and Easy A. 

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Kaitlyn Dever and Beanie Feldstein are a true tour de force, creating believable, lovable and sometimes cringe worthy characters in a way that people who have been through their teenage years with an inseparable best friend could easily relate to. 

The supporting cast absolutely kill it too, Billie Lourd absolutely stole the show for me, bringing a completely brilliant comical character, to what could be deemed quite a serious heart wrenching story, to life. She is completely original, fresh and flamboyant and everything I wanted her to be. 

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Jason Sudeikis also brings some adult supervision to the film in the form of the useless principle, whilst bringing up important political issues such as the underpayment of teachers in the U.S. Another credit to Wilde’s writing.

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The character development is fast and relevant, the two girls have done nothing but study and pass tests throughout their entire education up until this point and this one night is proof that they can be fun and smart.

I loved the complete reinvention of the high school dynamic, there were some real surprises in some of the characters, particularly as romantic relationships started to emerge. I loved how the “geeky kids” were actually the ones judging the “popular kids” instead of the conventional way of the popular kids being the bullies. 

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Fresh, original and completely relevant, Booksmart absolutely stole my heart and I hope anyone who struggled through those dreaded teenage years gets a chance to see it. Olivia Wilde deserves recognition for her incredible creation.