How do they try to win them over? They start a fight club for girls and pretend they know what they’re doing because they ‘definitely’ went to juvie over the summer.
If it’s not clear already, “Bottoms” doesn’t follow the modern media archetype of a teenage girl protagonist who is a “super strong independent woman feminist” as a lot do. In fact, PJ is a self proclaimed anti-feminist, and with lines like “these girls are a bunch of sixes, max,” prove the title. As much of a feminist as I am, it was really interesting to see a teen girl character have the inner(and spoken) thoughts of a teenage boy character, as we’re accustomed to seeing on screen. She’s portrayed as a bad person and it’s refreshing in a way because it’s so rare. Women are people, and sometimes they suck and for the sake of realness, I think it’s important to show that in the media.
The important thing to note is that the movie does not condone this behavior, in fact the characters get punished for it and are outcast from the very club they started when the reason they started the club is revealed. Although Josie does end up with her love interest, she has to prove she’s worthy to win her back. PJ doesn’t get a happy ending at all as it turns out that her crush was straight the whole time.
One of the best parts of this movie is watching Nicholas Galitzine play Jeff, the quarterback/idol of the high school. Jeff is a vain, manipulative and childish jock. His character is absolutely ridiculous, almost to an unrealistic level, but Galitzine makes him somewhat believable and grounded despite all of Jeff’s nonsense. He steals every moment that he’s on screen and I want him to have everything he wants in life because the man is horrendously talented. That brings me to Jeff’s character.
Most high school jocks (particularly quarterbacks) are portrayed as manipulative, misogynistic, dangerous brutes, who usually have a violent nature (i.e. Nate Jacobs in “Euphoria”), but it was extremely refreshing for that character archetype to be portrayed as a bumbling idiot that has no morals and yet retains a childlike innocence. Although he’s a jerk, in the end he doesn’t pose a threat and in fact leaves himself so vulnerable he needs to be rescued by the main ensemble.
Without spoiling too much, the club eventually goes head to head against a rival football team and thwarts their plans to kill Jeff. There’s biting, there’s blood and there’s sword fighting. It’s unhinged in the best possible way; if you wanted a realistic movie, I’m afraid you’ve come to the wrong place. That being said, although it’s completely off its rocker, “Bottoms” is a fantastic movie with impeccable comedic timing and engaging characters.
There are movies about female sexuality and there are movies about female rage; Emma Seligman and Rachel Sennot’s “Bottoms” manages to encapsulate both. The protagonists are PJ and Josie, two childhood best friends who are both considered losers at their school. In the spirit of the teen romantic comedy, they both have crushes on the most popular girls in school.
How do they try to win them over? They start a fight club for girls and pretend they know what they’re doing because they ‘definitely’ went to juvie over the summer.
If it’s not clear already, “Bottoms” doesn’t follow the modern media archetype of a teenage girl protagonist who is a “super strong independent woman feminist” as a lot do. In fact, PJ is a self proclaimed anti-feminist, and with lines like “these girls are a bunch of sixes, max,” prove the title. As much of a feminist as I am, it was really interesting to see a teen girl character have the inner(and spoken) thoughts of a teenage boy character, as we’re accustomed to seeing on screen. She’s portrayed as a bad person and it’s refreshing in a way because it’s so rare. Women are people, and sometimes they suck and for the sake of realness, I think it’s important to show that in the media.
The important thing to note is that the movie does not condone this behavior, in fact the characters get punished for it and are outcast from the very club they started when the reason they started the club is revealed. Although Josie does end up with her love interest, she has to prove she’s worthy to win her back. PJ doesn’t get a happy ending at all as it turns out that her crush was straight the whole time.
One of the best parts of this movie is watching Nicholas Galitzine play Jeff, the quarterback/idol of the high school. Jeff is a vain, manipulative and childish jock. His character is absolutely ridiculous, almost to an unrealistic level, but Galitzine makes him somewhat believable and grounded despite all of Jeff’s nonsense. He steals every moment that he’s on screen and I want him to have everything he wants in life because the man is horrendously talented. That brings me to Jeff’s character.
Most high school jocks (particularly quarterbacks) are portrayed as manipulative, misogynistic, dangerous brutes, who usually have a violent nature (i.e. Nate Jacobs in “Euphoria”), but it was extremely refreshing for that character archetype to be portrayed as a bumbling idiot that has no morals and yet retains a childlike innocence. Although he’s a jerk, in the end he doesn’t pose a threat and in fact leaves himself so vulnerable he needs to be rescued by the main ensemble.
Without spoiling too much, the club eventually goes head to head against a rival football team and thwarts their plans to kill Jeff. There’s biting, there’s blood and there’s sword fighting. It’s unhinged in the best possible way; if you wanted a realistic movie, I’m afraid you’ve come to the wrong place. That being said, although it’s completely off its rocker, “Bottoms” is a fantastic movie with impeccable comedic timing and engaging characters.