High-schoolers PJ (Rachel Sennott) and Josie (Ayo Edebiri) are nerdy lesbian virgins hoping to get together with their straight crushes, cheerleaders Brittany (Kaia Gerber) and Isabel (Havana Rose Liu), in director Emma Seligman’s Bottoms, a hilarious, coming-of-age story she co-wrote with Sennott that strikes a great balance between real emotions and outlandish situations.
Buy Bottoms Blu-rayLeaving the local carnival, PJ and Josie see Isabel get into a fight with her boyfriend Jeff (Nicholas Galitzine), Rockbridge Falls High School’s quarterback. They offer Isabel a ride but Jeff blocks the car and fakes an injury when they pull away. The principal (Wayne Péré) is so upset that Jeff has been “hurt” nearly a month before the homecoming game against rival Huntington High that he considers expelling them. Josie throws him off by explaining the incident was part of their self-defense club, which she made up; however, PJ thinks it would be a great idea to connect with Brittany and Isabel under the guise of female empowerment.
With rumors of their having been in juvenile hall over the summer and of Huntington students attacking female classmates, a few girls show up thinking PJ and Josie are tough and know how to handle themselves. The club slowly grows, even adding Brittany and Isabel. The members gain confidence from their physical interactions then talk and support each other emotionally. Josie takes advantage, making up crazy stories about her dangerous juvenile-hall experience, which makes Isabel sympathetic towards her.
As they hang out, Josie reveals that Jeff is cheating with their friend Hazel’s (Ruby Cruz) mom. For revenge, the club toilet-papers and eggs Jeff’s house. Josie and Isabel grow closer but as they lean in for a kiss, Hazel blows up Jeff’s car. They later connect in Josie’s bedroom.
Football player Tim (Miles Fowler) is concerned that the club members aren’t as focused on the football team as they should be. He investigates and at a pep rally he reveals in front of the entire school why PJ and Josie started the club, which not only turns the students against them, especially Isabel and fractures PJ and Josie’s friendship.
But when Josie learns that Huntington has plans to kill a Rockbridge football player, as is allegedly their school’s long tradition, she tries to reunite the girls fight club. Will she succeed? And if so, will they have enough time and enough fighting skill to stop the murder plot?
The video has been given a 1080p/MPEG-4 AVC encoded transfer displayed at its original aspect ratio of 2.39:1. Colors appear in solid hues. Blacks are inky and whites are accurate, contributing to a strong contrast. The image presents good depth, a sharp focus, and fine texture details. The audio is available in DTS-HD MA 5.1 and 2.0. For the 5.1 track, the dialogue is clear. The score by composers Leo Birenberg by Charli XCX fill the surrounds as do the songs, which come through a bit louder. The subwoofer supports the music with a bass that rattles the speaker at times and supports the effects, particularly the explosions.
The Special Features are:
- Audio Commentary by Cast Members Rachel Sennott, Ayo Edebiri, Ruby Cruz, Havana Rose Liu, and Kaia Gerber
- Audio Commentary by Director Emma Seligman
- Deleted Scenes (11 min) – Six scenes, only accessible individually.
- Outtakes (9 min)
- Ride Along: The Making of Bottoms (28 min) – Seligman and the cast speak about the making of the movie.
- Trailer
Bottoms presents a fresh, funny story that is smart about interpersonal relationships while the plot grows increasing wilder, moving from teen comedy into magical realism as the writers top the previous scenes in unexpected ways. From the leads to the supporting players, the cast does a great job bringing the characters to life. Former football player Marshawn Lynch deserves a mention as teacher Mr. G because he comes across as the character and handles the comedy effortlessly in what could have been a glorified cameo. The KL Studio Classics Blu-ray delivers pleasing video, complimentary audio, and a few extras for fans of the film to dig into.
