Thomas’s review published on Letterboxd:
“Bottoms” is a cheeky absurdist take on the high school sex comedy genre. It took me a bit to get on the film´s wavelength but when I understood what it´s going for and that it takes place outside of reality, I was on board. The off-kilter tone and exaggerated camp are entertaining, and the comedy is definitely more hit than miss. The unhinged dialogue is hilarious but what I enjoyed the most are all the zany sight gags mostly hidden in the background. And the way the film calls out, parodies, and plays around with genre tropes is pretty clever. What carries the film even more than the creative screenplay are the vibrant, charismatic performances. Rachel Sennott and Ayo Edebiri have the kind of endearing real-life friendship chemistry you can´t fake as well as a natural charm and pitch-perfect comedic timing that makes you like them even though their characters do some shitty things. Ruby Cruz, Marshawn Lynch, and Nicholas Galitzine are the standouts among the supporting cast and have some great moments, as well. The tone is lighthearted, ironic, and unserious and the comedy is bold and irreverent (some jokes border on bad taste). The film touches upon themes such as sexuality and gender but it never lets serious politics get in the way of the fun. It´s a silly surreal farce that wants to entertain you rather than a preachy message film with a pointed finger, and I appreciate that. Yet at the same time it also wants to hit some genuine emotional beats but those fell mostly flat for me. Furthermore, the visual direction doesn´t quite match the absurdity of the script and the performances and feels a bit bland in comparison. For a sex comedy or sex comedy parody, the movie also could be raunchier for my taste. At some moments, I couldn´t fully connect with the film because of the Gen Z-ness of it all but then out of nowhere it hits me with an Avril Lavigne “Complicated” needle drop montage that took my millennial self right back to the days of my first iPod, so everything is fine and forgiven. In general, the needle drops in this movie are fantastic (the “Total Eclipse of the Heart” scene is the highlight for me). To conclude, I´m maybe not as enthusiastic as the film´s biggest fans and I wouldn´t call it the savior of comedy but all in all, I had a fun time with it.
