Bottoms is like Fight Club, but it revels in messy teen girl drama

A modern tale of teenage revenge

• By
  
  Cass Marshall
  
• on June 7, 2023 3:06 pm

Bottoms is a manic-looking movie that follows a cast of high school underdogs on a violent vengeance quest. The film, directed by Emma Seligman and written by Rachel Sennott, is about two high school girls who set up a fight club to attract cheerleaders. The film stars Seddott and Ayo Edebiri as the two unpopular queer kids who kick off the fight club, which soon spins out of control.

The film’s red band trailer is a reminder as to how miserable the high school experience can be, but our heroes manage to carve out a space for themselves via their fight club. The enterprise is supervised by a detached and porn-perusing teacher, portrayed by football star Marshawn Lynch. As the club takes off in popularity, the girls come in conflict with the school’s bullies.

The movie looks like a mix between teen satires like Heathers and Mean Girls, and it takes obvious influence from the film adaptation of Chuck Palahniuk’s Fight Club. There’s vehicular assault, bloody noses, and tons of brutal brawling. “I’ll going to finally reverse-stalk my stalker!” announces one girl, at which the protagonists cheer. “I’ll be able to kill my stepdad!” adds another participant, which gets a more awkward response.

Bottoms first premiered at the SXSW film festival, and it’s garnered critical acclaim from its early screenings. The movie hits theatres in August.

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