Bottoms

It was supposed to be a new offshoot of teenage comedies, maybe even a new brand like American Pie. Anything can happen, but Bottoms doesn't make up its mind until the end whether it's going to be the classic pattern of knocked-up adolescence enriched with some more action-packed segments or just a pure and even unpleasant glorification of violence that also happens to tell a story about girls who want it too. I can't even judge which side of the scale is higher in this weighing, but I definitely know that I expected much more. The genre has fallen asleep, and what's more, in this decade it exists almost exclusively in the realm of TV series, and has disappeared from the film scene. And it doesn't seem to me that this explosive semi-parodic perspective will be bringing it back to life any time soon. (31.12.2023)

An unexpectedly enjoyable and entertaining teenage flick that, while at first glance doesn't really break out of the classic high-school template of aloof girls, is more than entertaining thanks to the main characters, who are simply fun to watch. A bunch of girls from high school feel oppressed by the football players and boys in general, so they decide to start their own “fight club”, and this provides a lot of hilariously escalated situations, revenge on the football players, and even some absurdities. I was amused by the characters of everyone involved, each one is quite hilarious and memorable, and even the stereotypical characters of the football players deliver some funny scenes. It's just a pity that there's a classic story conflict in the last third and from there on it's more of a drawn-out and predictable finish with a parodic conclusion, but the previous two thirds were actually quite good and I was satisfied. That said, this is nothing but an inoffensive teen comedy to kill time. (26.09.2023)

An enjoyable feel good genre film from high school. It lacks proper humour, but is likeable, lively, nicely shot and fast paced. The girls start a fight club in high school and get they beat each other up. There are a lot of lesbians, but the characters are fine, the soundtrack is good and the final fight with the football players on the field is great. It was also unexpectedly suspenseful at times, so I'll give it a weaker four stars. I had an unexpectedly good time, plus I miss these comedies from high school and I don't think there was a better one this year. 70% (05.12.2023)