Tracker Pixel for Entry

‘Bottoms’ Up: Seligman and Sennott Re-Team for Wild Comedy

Cinema | September 17th, 2023

By Greg Carlson

gregcarlson1@gmail.com

Rachel Sennott and Ayo Edebiri play best pals PJ and Josie, woebegone nerds hot for cheerleaders Brittany (Kaia Gerber) and Isabel (Havana Rose Liu) in a high school caste system that looks and feels quite familiar to fans of the durable teen sex comedy.

In “Bottoms,” directed by Emma Seligman – who co-wrote the screenplay with her “Shiva Baby” star Sennott – the satire, the visual gags, the gross-outs, and the gusto combine to form one of this year’s most entertaining and refreshing confections. It may not be “Heathers,” or even “Booksmart,” but “Bottoms” boasts more than enough weirdness and originality to earn cult re-watch status.

Seligman successfully establishes the tonal sweet spot for “Bottoms” to blossom and thrive via healthy suspension of disbelief. Like a number of its influences, the film constructs a complete Bizarro-level universe tweaked with three drops of strong metanarrative potion (it never hurts to allude to the fantasy of high school students brought to life by performers in their late 20s and up).

We’re back in that place where preening football heroes dress in their uniforms 24/7, a teacher openly peruses a porn glossy titled “Divorced and Happy” during class, and an outlandish scheme to engage in heavy petting launches a self-defense and empowerment group that morphs quickly into a fight club.

Most of the hype ahead of the movie’s wide release focused on the outrageous premise. The description accompanying a Google search still reads, “Unpopular best friends PJ and Josie start a high school fight club to meet girls and lose their virginity,” which isn’t entirely accurate, since our protagonists already shoulder significant and specific unrequited crushes on Brittany and Isabel, whom they already know.

But the point is that Seligman and Sennott merely use the eye-catching fight club angle as a means to harden a much more ambitious odyssey through the timeworn tropes and expectations of mainstream teensploitation.

By cultivating a world where audacious and ample profanity peppers the steady flow of observations which are always stretching fully into the territory of adulthood, “Bottoms” prepares us for its glimpses of more pointed social commentary. Conversely, Seligman deliberately chooses not to warn viewers about some of its most brazen demonstrations of movie make-believe. The climactic gridiron fracas, which pulls together a bomb plot, a contaminated sprinkler system, and a gladiatorial nerds-versus-jocks showdown close in spirit to the anarchic news team battle royal in “Anchorman,” brings it in a very particular way.

Seligman and Sennott will likely receive plenty of heat from both conservative and politically-correct voices sure to scold the movie’s utterly brutal commitment to humor in the service of its bigger message. “Bottoms,” unafraid to include jokes about rape and sexual assault, eating disorders, terroristic threats, suicide and self-harm, bullying, and a whole lot more, walks a tightrope during a period of acute scrutiny and culture policing. Its willingness to offend without apology turns out to be its knockout punch. I look forward to reading the anniversary-marking think pieces and hot takes when the movie celebrates its tenth and twentieth birthdays.

Recently in:

By Alicia Underlee Nelsonalicia@hpr1.comDairy Queen restaurants across the country will raise funds for Children’s Miracle Network hospitals during Miracle Treat Day on Thursday, July 31. At least one dollar from every Blizzard…

By Michael M. Millermichael.miller@ndsu.edu The Northwest Blade, from Eureka, South Dakota, published a wonderful story in August 2020. It’s called “Granddaughter keeps Grandmother’s precious chamomile seeds,” by Cindy…

October 3-5, 2025Memorial Union at NDSU, 1401 Administrative Ave., Fargo With the theme of “Existence is Resistance: Healing Through Unity,” this year’s summit will kick off with a professional development day followed by a…

By John Strandjas@hpr1.com Yes, we know, everywhere you look, the world situation is mental. It’s almost inescapable just how tenuous life’s circumstances are. And how they are mostly — pretty much entirely — out of our…

By Ed Raymondfargogadfly@gmail.comWhat are the four freedoms of Donald John Trump? Nearly a century ago, President Franklin Delano Roosevelt said every citizen in the United States of America should have four freedoms: Freedom from…

By Rick Gionrickgion@gmail.com Holiday wine shopping shouldn’t have to be complicated. But unfortunately it can cause unneeded anxiety due to an overabundance of choices. Don’t fret my friends, we once again have you covered…

By Rick Gion and Nichole Hensenrickgion@gmail.com The wait is finally over. Those who have visited Nichole’s Fine Pastry & Cafe lately know about the recent major additions and renovations that have taken place over the past…

By Sabrina Hornungsabrina@hpr1.com Dakotah Faye is a hip-hop artist from Minot, North Dakota, and he’s had a busy year. He’s released two albums. This summer he opened for Tech N9ne in Sturgis and will be opening for Bone…

By Greg Carlsongregcarlson1@gmail.com As a follow-up to “The Whale,” a raucous adaptation of the first novel in Charlie Huston’s Henry Thompson series was a good choice for eclectic auteur Darren Aronofksy, whose bold visions…

By HPR staffsubmit@hpr1.com Mark the first weekend of October on your calendar. It’s the weekend of the Studio Crawl, which takes us all on a wonderful, metro-wide tour of our talented (and often wacky) arts community. On October…

Alicia Underlee Nelsonalicia@hpr1.comPenn & Teller are returning to their roots. The legendary magic and comedy duo will appear on the Crown Stage at the Minnesota Renaissance Festival in Shakopee, Minnesota, where they first…

By Annie Prafckeannieprafcke@gmail.com AUSTIN, Texas – As a Chinese-American, connecting to my culture through food is essential, and no dish brings me back to my mother’s kitchen quite like hotdish. Yes, you heard me right –…

By Sabrina Hornungsabrina@hpr1.comNew Jamestown Brewery Serves up Local FlavorThere’s something delicious brewing out here on the prairie and it just so happens to be the newest brewery west of the Red River and east of the…

By Ellie Liveranieli.liverani.ra@gmail.com Loneliness is on the rise in North Dakota, where there is one of the highest rates of people living alone. The challenging winter can be a major contributor, yet North Dakota is not alone.…

By Alicia Underlee NelsonProtests against President Trump’s policies and the cuts made by Elon Musk’s Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE) are planned across North Dakota and western Minnesota Friday, April 4 and…

By Vern Thompsonvern.thompson@rocketmail.com Working in the Bakken oil fields of the Williston Basin is so different from my home in Fargo. I'm not judging, because the people working and living in western North Dakota are very…