Here’s a look at the first uncut six minutes of director Olivia Wilde’s new film BOOKSMART. Told from a wildly original, fresh and modern perspective, BOOKSMART is an unfiltered comedy about high school best friends and the bonds we create that last a lifetime. Capturing the spirit of our times, the film is a coming of age story for a new generation.
At its heart, Booksmart is a story about the breadth and depth of female friendship. “I was very happy that this movie was being made, even before I thought I even had a chance in hell of being part of it,” recalls Wilde. “I was just grateful that someone was making a story about female friendship that wasn’t about them just trying to get a guy or trying to assimilate.” “The movie isn’t about two nerdy girls who just want to dress up like popular girls and somehow bag the popular guy,” continues Wilde. “It’s a story about the friendship between two young girls which for most women at that age is their first intimate relationship before they move on into adulthood. It’s an intense bond, and it’s something that most of us can reflect upon and think, ‘How did that friendship inform my identity and my future relationships?’ “And yet, it’s also break-up movie because these girls have to say goodbye to each other,” adds Wilde. “They have to set each other free. They have become almost one living, breathing being, and now it’s time for them to separate and set forth on their own journey. That’s not easy to do. In this movie, we’re telling the story about these girls at a pivotal moment in their lives, which happens to be a fun and exciting adventure.”
The best high school comedies make you laugh, and feel nostalgic, and also help you gain a better understanding of yourself. In Booksmart, the awkwardness of getting older is more than losing your virginity or the milestones of academic life. Instead, it is about breaking free from the shackles – self-imposed or otherwise – that keep you small. This film is a reminder to all of us that you come-of-age when you open-up and allow your light to shine, and when you let others do the same. “I hope this film gets everyone to consider how they’ve perceived others, how they’ve unfairly judged people even themselves,” says Wilde. “I hope it makes them see others with a little more empathy and appreciate the complexity of their own selves. Lastly, I hope it makes people reflect on their high school experience, whether they’re in it currently, or it was forty years ago and think, ‘that’s a special time in life and it’s important to be present because those times are fleeting. There’s value to those moments and those relationships.’”
St. Louis readers, enter to win passes to this Monday’s (5/20) advance screening HERE.
Booksmart is rated R. Annapurna Pictures will release the film May 24, 2019.
