Podcast 55: Booksmart (2019)

The 3 Guys Podcast

Recorded on 3/24/2022

Getting Straight A’s. Giving Zero F’s. In this episode we review the comedy movie Booksmart (released 2019) starring Emily Halpern, Sarah Haskins, Susanna Fogel and Katie Silberman. This week we are joined by our special guest Bellamy. WARNING: There will be SPOILERS!

The 3 Guys Rating

3.75/5

This week we are joined by Bellemy Perez, a Filipino American filmmaker from Seattle, Washington. She is currently a senior at CSUN majoring in CTVA Film Production and minoring in Asian American Studies.

Be sure to check out Bellemy’s CSUN Senior Thesis Film about immigration, love, and the Filipino American struggle…MANONG.

Booksmart on Blu-ray

Notes From The Show

  • Quick Synopsis

  • Released: March 10, 2019 (SXSW), May 24, 2019 (United States)

    Directed By: Olivia Wilde

    Screenplay By: Emily Halpern, Sarah Haskins, Susanna Fogel and Katie Silberman

    Stars: Kaitlyn Dever, Beanie Feldstein

    Plot: On the eve of their high school graduation, two academic superstars and best friends realize they should have worked less and played more. Determined not to fall short of their peers, the girls try to cram four years of fun into one night.

    Tagline: Getting Straight A’s. Giving Zero F’s.

    How did this movie do
    Budget: $6 Million
    Box office: $25 Million

  • Casting

    • Several of the actors among the younger cast members are children and/or relatives of other Hollywood industry professionals and stars. Beanie Feldstein (Molly) is the sister of actor Jonah Hill. Mason Gooding (Nick) is a son of actor Cuba Gooding Jr.. Molly Gordon (Annabelle / Triple A) is the daughter of screenwriter Jessie Nelson and TV director Bryan Gordon. Billie Lourd (Gigi) is the daughter of agent Bryan Lourd and Carrie Fisher.
    • The film cast includes four former Saturday Night Live (1975) cast members: Jason Sudeikis, Will Forte, Michael Patrick O’Brien and Maya Rudolph. Will Ferrell, another SNL alum, is one of the executive producers.
  • Awards

    • NOMINATED: Golden Globe Awards – Best Actress – Musical or Comedy Beanie Feldstein
    • NOMINATED: Writers Guild of America Awards – Best Original Screenplay
  • Trivia

    • Olivia Wilde encouraged Kaitlyn Dever and Beanie Feldstein to spend time living together to really build up a rapport between the two girls. The two ended up being roommates for 10 weeks.

    • Olivia Wilde encouraged her cast to rewrite any dialogue for their characters if they felt it to be inauthentic.

    • In the film, Amy is a lesbian and Molly is straight. In real life, the opposite is true: Beanie Feldstein is queer and Kaitlyn Dever is straight.

    • Beanie Feldstein initially read the script for another role that was eventually written out. When Olivia Wilde was brought on to direct, she wanted Beanie for the lead role of Molly.

    • Screenwriter Katie Silberman said that Billie Lourd did such an impressive performance that extra scenes were written specifically for her.

    • Directorial debut of Olivia Wilde.

    • Olivia Wilde said that The Breakfast Club (1985), Fast Times at Ridgemont High (1982), Dazed and Confused (1993), and Clueless (1995) were the inspiration for this film.

    • In a May 24, 2019, interview on National Public Radio’s program “All Things Considered,” director Olivia Wilde explained the word “Malala” as it is used by the two best friends Amy and Molly as an inside reference between them: “‘Malala’ is their code word for unconditional support. So what ‘malala’ means is that what I’m asking you to do now with me you must do….Malala [Yousafzai, the Pakistani advocate for girls’ education and the youngest-ever Nobel laureate] is one of their great role models. And I think that’s why she holds the most significant place in their friendship, the idea that if you call ‘Malala,’ you must really mean it.”

    • The first draft of the script was written in 2009.

    • Susanna Fogel’s rewrite of the screenplay revised one of the lead characters as a lesbian.

    • Many themes in this movie are reminiscent of (or in some cases, a mirror image of) Superbad (2007). Moreover, Beanie Feldstein, the lead character in Booksmart, and Jonah Hill, the lead character in Superbad, are siblings.

    • Olivia Wilde’s boyfriend at the time of filming, Jason Sudeikis, plays the school principal.

    • Legendary DJ/producer Dan The Automator (Gorillaz, Handsome Boy Modelling School, Deltron 3030, Kool Keith, Got a Girl, Crudo) composed the score.

    • The movie premiered at SXSW on Olivia Wilde’s 35th birthday.

    • In a May 2019 Vanity Fair interview, director Olivia Wilde described Booksmart as “the Training Day (2001) of high school movies.”

    • Included among the “1001 Movies You Must See Before You Die”, edited by Steven Schneider.

    • In the bathroom, Hope says ‘you take no prisoners’ to Amy. Later, there’s a scene where Molly has a huge ‘take no prisoners’ text on the wall above her bed.

    • Amy wears a T-shirt bearing the image of Birute Galdikas.

    • Noah Galvin and Molly Gordon previously worked together in the Off-Broadway production of “Alice by Heart”.

    • Lisa Kudrow also plays the mother of a lesbian daughter in the TV series Feel Good (2020).

    • Delta Air Lines has removed several scenes from their movie’s in-flight version, specifically those containing same-sex interactions. After viewers have pointed it out to director Olivia Wilde on Twitter, she said that she was heartbroken about the censorship, as those scenes are an integral part of main character’s journey. Wilde urged Delta to rectify their decision and pleaded to any other airline to do the same for similar movies. Soon afterwards, Delta announced that those scenes will be re-inserted.

Released: March 10, 2019 (SXSW), May 24, 2019 (United States)

Directed By: Olivia Wilde

Screenplay By: Emily Halpern, Sarah Haskins, Susanna Fogel and Katie Silberman

Stars: Kaitlyn Dever, Beanie Feldstein

Plot: On the eve of their high school graduation, two academic superstars and best friends realize they should have worked less and played more. Determined not to fall short of their peers, the girls try to cram four years of fun into one night.

Tagline: Getting Straight A’s. Giving Zero F’s.

How did this movie do
Budget: $6 Million
Box office: $25 Million

  • Several of the actors among the younger cast members are children and/or relatives of other Hollywood industry professionals and stars. Beanie Feldstein (Molly) is the sister of actor Jonah Hill. Mason Gooding (Nick) is a son of actor Cuba Gooding Jr.. Molly Gordon (Annabelle / Triple A) is the daughter of screenwriter Jessie Nelson and TV director Bryan Gordon. Billie Lourd (Gigi) is the daughter of agent Bryan Lourd and Carrie Fisher.
  • The film cast includes four former Saturday Night Live (1975) cast members: Jason Sudeikis, Will Forte, Michael Patrick O’Brien and Maya Rudolph. Will Ferrell, another SNL alum, is one of the executive producers.
  • NOMINATED: Golden Globe Awards – Best Actress – Musical or Comedy Beanie Feldstein
  • NOMINATED: Writers Guild of America Awards – Best Original Screenplay
  • Olivia Wilde encouraged Kaitlyn Dever and Beanie Feldstein to spend time living together to really build up a rapport between the two girls. The two ended up being roommates for 10 weeks.

  • Olivia Wilde encouraged her cast to rewrite any dialogue for their characters if they felt it to be inauthentic.

  • In the film, Amy is a lesbian and Molly is straight. In real life, the opposite is true: Beanie Feldstein is queer and Kaitlyn Dever is straight.

  • Beanie Feldstein initially read the script for another role that was eventually written out. When Olivia Wilde was brought on to direct, she wanted Beanie for the lead role of Molly.

  • Screenwriter Katie Silberman said that Billie Lourd did such an impressive performance that extra scenes were written specifically for her.

  • Directorial debut of Olivia Wilde.

  • Olivia Wilde said that The Breakfast Club (1985), Fast Times at Ridgemont High (1982), Dazed and Confused (1993), and Clueless (1995) were the inspiration for this film.

  • In a May 24, 2019, interview on National Public Radio’s program “All Things Considered,” director Olivia Wilde explained the word “Malala” as it is used by the two best friends Amy and Molly as an inside reference between them: “‘Malala’ is their code word for unconditional support. So what ‘malala’ means is that what I’m asking you to do now with me you must do….Malala [Yousafzai, the Pakistani advocate for girls’ education and the youngest-ever Nobel laureate] is one of their great role models. And I think that’s why she holds the most significant place in their friendship, the idea that if you call ‘Malala,’ you must really mean it.”

  • The first draft of the script was written in 2009.

  • Susanna Fogel’s rewrite of the screenplay revised one of the lead characters as a lesbian.

  • Many themes in this movie are reminiscent of (or in some cases, a mirror image of) Superbad (2007). Moreover, Beanie Feldstein, the lead character in Booksmart, and Jonah Hill, the lead character in Superbad, are siblings.

  • Olivia Wilde’s boyfriend at the time of filming, Jason Sudeikis, plays the school principal.

  • Legendary DJ/producer Dan The Automator (Gorillaz, Handsome Boy Modelling School, Deltron 3030, Kool Keith, Got a Girl, Crudo) composed the score.

  • The movie premiered at SXSW on Olivia Wilde’s 35th birthday.

  • In a May 2019 Vanity Fair interview, director Olivia Wilde described Booksmart as “the Training Day (2001) of high school movies.”

  • Included among the “1001 Movies You Must See Before You Die”, edited by Steven Schneider.

  • In the bathroom, Hope says ‘you take no prisoners’ to Amy. Later, there’s a scene where Molly has a huge ‘take no prisoners’ text on the wall above her bed.

  • Amy wears a T-shirt bearing the image of Birute Galdikas.

  • Noah Galvin and Molly Gordon previously worked together in the Off-Broadway production of “Alice by Heart”.

  • Lisa Kudrow also plays the mother of a lesbian daughter in the TV series Feel Good (2020).

  • Delta Air Lines has removed several scenes from their movie’s in-flight version, specifically those containing same-sex interactions. After viewers have pointed it out to director Olivia Wilde on Twitter, she said that she was heartbroken about the censorship, as those scenes are an integral part of main character’s journey. Wilde urged Delta to rectify their decision and pleaded to any other airline to do the same for similar movies. Soon afterwards, Delta announced that those scenes will be re-inserted.

About The Movie From IMDB

Booksmart Comedy | May 24, 2019 (United States) 7.1
Director: Olivia WildeWriter: Emily Halpern, Sarah Haskins, Susanna FogelStars: Kaitlyn Dever, Beanie Feldstein, Jessica WilliamsSummary: On the eve of their high school graduation, two academic superstars and best friends realize they should have worked less and played more. Determined not to fall short of their peers, the girls try to cram four years of fun into one night.

Photos


See all photos >>

Videos


See all videos >>

Cast

...
Amy
...
Molly
...
Miss Fine
...
Principal Brown
...
Charmaine
...
Doug
...
Ryan
...
Nick
...
Jared
...
Hope
...
Triple A
...
Gigi
...
Theo
...
Tanner
...
Alan
...
George
...
Pat the Pizza Guy
...
Yacht Waiter

See full cast >>

Countries: United StatesLanguages: English, Mandarin, SpanishBudget: $6,000,000 (estimated)
Booksmart Comedy | May 24, 2019 (United States) Summary: On the eve of their high school graduation, two academic superstars and best friends realize they should have worked less and played more. Determined not to fall short of their peers, the gi... Read all
Countries: United StatesLanguages: English, Mandarin, Spanish

Quotes

Molly: It's fun your mom thinks we're boning.

Amy: It isn't you who has to deal with their awkward looks when I say that I'm going to the library with you and I'm actually going to the library with you.


Gigi: I lost my virginity in what I thought was a park but... it turned out to be a graveyard, and now the ghost spirits live inside my eggs waiting to be reborn.


Triple A: Can you not call me Triple A at college next year?

Molly: Sure... Annabelle.

Triple A: Ew, fuck. Not now.


Molly: We haven't done anything. We haven't broken any rules.

Amy: Okay, we've broken a lot of rules. One: We have fake IDs.

Molly: Fake college IDs, so we can get into their 24-hour library.

Amy: Name one person whose life was so much better because they broke a couple of rules.

Molly: Picasso.

Amy: He broke art rules. Name a person who broke a real rule.

Molly: Rosa Parks.

Amy: Name another one.

Molly: Susan B. Anthony.

Amy: God dammit.


Amy: We'll probably just do a Korean face-mask.

Charmaine: I don't need to know all the words.


Principal Brown: There's nothing more exciting and daunting than the blank page. Oh, that's good. Maybe I'll do a book of quotes.

[He starts recording on his phone]

Principal Brown: There's nothing more exciting or daunting than the blank page.


Molly: You guys don't even care about school.

Triple A: No, we just don't only care about school.


Molly: Gigi, where the fuck you going to school next year?

Gigi: Don't judge me. It was my fifth choice: Harvard.


Molly: You can make yourself cum using only your mind? That's like the one thing my mind can't do.


[Amy is being put into a police car by a cop]

Amy: Shotgun! Just kidding. I don't have one.


Triple A: I'm incredible at hand-jobs but I also got a fifteen-sixty on the SATs.


Molly: You failed the seventh grade twice.

Theo: Rule of threes.


Molly: Amy, do you know how many girls are gonna be up your vagina next year? Every time I come visit you, you're gonna be scissoring a different girl.

Amy: Dude, scissoring is not a thing.

Molly: Don't knock it until you've tried it.

Amy: It's not a thing.

Molly: Don't knock it until you've tried it.

Amy: I'm not knocking it, I'm just saying it isn't a thing.

Molly: How about you don't knock it until you've tried it?


Amy: Time for us to do what we do best.

Molly: What's that?

Amy: Motherfucking homework.


Molly: [On Gigi and Jared] They spend every minute together, it's so weird.

Amy: We spend every minute together.

Molly: We are equals. Gigi just keeps Jared around for when she needs a liver.


Jared: Prepare to get bashed! In a fun way, like consensually bashed, I mean. Consensually bashed, it should say. Prepare to get consensually bashed.


Molly: Dude, you were so scary.

Amy: If you were actually a criminal, you'd be the best criminal in Los Angeles.


Theo: Can I see you again?

Miss Fine: Good luck at Google next year.

[Miss Fine leaves as Triple A approaches]

Triple A: Did you fuck Miss Fine?


Motivational Voice: Fuck those losers. Fuck them right in their stupid fucking faces.


Gigi: I'm a Golden Starfish!

[Falls into a swimming pool]


[Amy shows Molly how to use mace]

Amy: Mace. Listen, it is very important that you keep the safety...

[the mace sprays past Molly's face]

Molly: Oh. Amy!

[Molly runs out of the room]

Amy: This wasn't on. Don't touch your eyes!


[Amy and Molly pop up in the back of Pat's car, using their hair as masks, and scream]

Pat the Pizza Guy: What the fuck is this?

Molly: We ask the questions!


Molly: We are not one-dimensional. We are smart and fun!


Molly: We missed out. We didn't go to parties because we wanted to focus on school and get into good colleges.

Amy: And it worked!


Molly: Malala

Amy: Whoa

Molly: I'm calling Malala.

Amy: Wow. You know you only get,like, one Malala a year?

Molly: Yeah, I'm calling it. Full support, no questions asked, you are coming with me.


Jared: Can I get a "what what"?

Amy: Oh my god.


Amy: [about Jared and Gigi after they arrived at school] Here comes the 1%.


Molly: Nobody knows we're fun.


Molly: This is not a time to celebrate, let's go to a party tonight.


Jared: So, Molly actually warned me she might be a little late and tapped me to start her speech.

Principal Brown: Wait, wait, Molly Davidson's gonna be late to graduation?

Jared: Yeah.

Principal Brown: Okay, that doesn't sound like her.

Jared: Right. Well, uh, she also asked me to remind you that... um... um... I got it. Uh... "this sort of thing happens all the time on the senate floor, and if a senator isn't present for a vote..."

Principal Brown: Okay. Okay.

Jared: "... a proxy..."

Principal Brown: Great. Okay, that does sound like her.

Jared: "... for the vote to take place... in his or her absence."

Principal Brown: I got it.


Jared: [yelling to Amy and Molly] You guys hungry? I got some soup dumps!

Gigi: [lying on the roof of Jared's car] Keep it down out there!


Molly: Yeah, Amy's spending the summer in Botswana helping women make their own tampons.

George: That's... gross.

Amy: Well, blood attracts lions. I'm saving lives.


Amy: Sorry, are you talking about porn?

Molly: All I'm saying...

Amy: No.

Molly: No one will know if you watched one porn one time. Think of it as a documentary. It's just a sexy documentary. It's a hot doc.

Amy: All of those women are European trafficking victims.

Molly: Excuse me, ma'am, are you judging other people's sexual preferences? 'Cause you fuck a panda every night.


Jared: Sorry I'm late. Traffic was nuts.

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *