Four Weddings and a Funeral (1994) dir. Mike Newell
‘I just wondered, in short, to recap it in a slightly clearer version, the words of David Cassidy, in fact, while he was still with The Partridge Family, “I think I love you.”’
I loved it. Billie Lourd was hilarious in a supporting role. But actually, everyone in it was great. I really loved how the kids looked … like real people. Though not real high school students; they were all past their teens. But at least they didn’t all look like generic attractive Hollywood people. The cast wasn’t all white, but could’ve been more diverse. Still, at least there were as many women as men in the roles that appeared in more than one scene, and the focus was definitely on the friendship between the two female protagonists, Molly and Amy, rather than any of the potential romances. Molly has a crush on a boy she considers a dumb jock; Amy has a crush on a skater girl, and these affect the plot, but they’re not what the plot is about.
Most of it wasn’t that plausible, but something about it rang very true anyway. I loved how the best friends went on sprees of complimenting each other; I loved how all the kids at the school were deeper and more complex than Molly had realised. I loved that the movie had some heart, and that both Molly and Amy experienced a lot of personal growth in the course of the approximately 24 hours covered by the movie.
Basically: If this movie is still playing near you, you should see it.
I loved this movie a lot. I was very much a fan of the John Hughes-type teen comedies when they came out, which happened shortly after I was out of high school myself. Today I see a fair number of things that are problematic about them that I didn’t see at the time, but I still have a soft spot for them.
Booksmart is a really well-done updating/subversion/advancing of that genre (and of other movies that themselves advanced it, like Clueless). The writing, the performances, and the direction really worked for me. It doesn’t LOOK like a quirky little indie movie, which is kind of what I was expecting it to look like. There are moments that were literally breathtaking.
There’s a really deft handling of the character relationships and story arc that sucked me in. I’ve watched it three times, and would totally watch it again. Also, I should mention: it’s hilarious.
