Title: Bottoms
Year: 2023
Director: Emma Seligman
Country: US
Language: English
Raunchy comedies have been dominated by boys behaving badly for decades; from Animal House (1978) to American Pie (1999) to Superbad (2008). Lately women have carried this sub-genre (Trainwreck), but have immediately felt dated due to how off-putting the leads are. Bottoms (2023) is a refreshing queer-focused film that is equal parts smart and horny.
Two unpopular queer high school students start a fight club to have sex before graduation.
Bottoms is Emma Seligman’s second feature after her impressive debut Shiva Baby (2020). Co-written by Seligman and star Rachel Sennott, this is an edgy yet hilarious film that pushes boundaries and tests our suspension of disbelief.
Most comedies in the same vein as Bottoms use editing tricks to clumsily hit a punchline, but Seligman employs D.o.P Maria Rusche to punctuate humour through visual cues. She has a remarkable understanding of space; using fluid camera movement, blocking and focus to draw in the film's funniest moments.
Production designer Nate Jones gives the picture a nostalgic appeal by using as little technology as possible and giving the picture a timeless quality. The year Bottoms takes place could be any year since 1980. I'm becoming a big fan of Seligman due to her clear dedication to making art out of film. I hope she continues making more great movies.
No comments:
Post a Comment