Rating summary

Movie		2.5
Video		4.5
Audio		5.0
Extras		3.0
Overall		3.5

Booksmart Blu-ray Movie Review

Reviewed by Martin Liebman September 6, 2019

Booksmart poses a simple question and attempts to answer it to the best of its "one night of out-of-their-element mayhem" ability: what is balance in life? Can balance be found -- even achieved -- with a single action? And what does balance look like? Is it the same for everyone, or is it different for everyone? First-time Director Olivia Wilde and a team of writers explore how a sudden shift in mindset can have longstanding repercussions -- for the better, for the worse -- for anyone who dares to step out of their comfort zone. But never mind the more contemplative side of things. Booksmart, at its core, celebrates contemporary culture, cramming in enough ideology within the prism of modern society to fill a college class on the subject. It blazes forward with an eye to having a ton of fun around its periphery while exploring those questions of drive and purpose and balance through a very pointed and focused lens.

Amy (Kaitlyn Dever) and Molly (Beanie Feldstein) are high school seniors hours away from graduation. They've worked hard to achieve their dreams but it becomes ever more apparent to them that they've missed out on so many more life experiences beyond their schoolwork and localized friendship. Amy dreams of dating Ryan (Victoria Ruesga), a girl with a great mood and smile. Molly overhears a few of her classmates poking fun at her, but when she responds with visions of grandeur while looking down on their supposedly meager existences, she learns that all three of them are, like her, on the fast track to success, and they've done more than their fair share of partying and engaged in so many of the "extracurriculars" that Molly believed to be an obstacle to living her best life. Now, with only hours before graduation, the friends set out to attend an epic party, let their inhibitions go, and live life to its fullest in a transformative night away from themselves, en route to finding themselves.

Booksmart allows its edge to overwhelm its more thoughtful content, relying on rehashed humor, stale styles, and manufactured characters to define and drive the story. It is unabashedly vulgar and it celebrates its contemporary drive, and it sometimes feels like it's trying to be so all inclusive that it loses sight of its central question. But perhaps that is the point. The film's very core suggests that the core doesn't have to be so rigid, that there's plenty of wiggle room for frivolity and fun and escape from meaning even where it exists and yearns to be the center of attention. In that regard perhaps the movie can be seen as a success, using its own existence as an example of the story it tells, following two protagonists moving away from the central chase and finding themselves away from meaning rather than within it. It's an interesting opportunity for deconstruction if anyone wishes to dig deeper beyond the superficialities.

But who wants to do that? Booksmart thrives on its adventure, as superficially superfluous as it may be. The movie is less about the ebbs and flows of movement, where the night takes the girls and how they get there but rather how they interact with one another and those they encounter and how they respond to the world around them. The movie further builds some of the secondary characters to the point that the audience grows to care, to an extent, about several of them and what they gain -- sexually, emotionally -- from the night's activities, too. The focus is squarely on Amy and Molly, but not so rigidly that there's no opportunity to explore beyond. The cast is largely strong, natural, and focuses on the frivolity, seeming to do little acting and just living up the moment in every shot.

Booksmart Blu-ray Movie, Video Quality 

Booksmart was digitally photographed but arrives on Blu-ray with a fairly healthy looking image that resembles film. It's sharp and nicely detailed in every location: around school, at parties, in bedrooms, even in the back of several cars in low light. Take a look at an exterior eating area in chapter two, and a yellow table in particular, where all of the wear and grime is sharply visible. Skin details are precise, showcasing every hair, freckle, and pore with commanding clarity. Clothing is likewise sharp and complimentary of all of the various materials seen throughout the film. Colors are impressively well saturated. Contrast appears boosted slightly for effect but the palette is richly vibrant and alive in every shot. Skin tones are healthy and black levels never push too flat. A moderate amount of noise is unsurprisingly, and expectedly, visible in low light but no other source eyesores or encode artifacts are readily evident. This is a very nice 1080p transfer from 20th Century Fox.

Booksmart Blu-ray Movie, Audio Quality 

Booksmart features a learned DTS-HD Master Audio 5.1 lossless soundtrack. The track explodes with incredible bass and stage saturation in the opening moments. Music throughout is ace, offering impressive low end response and seamless stage engagement from every active channel. Music is absolutely the driving, dominant force throughout the track. Other elements are impressive, but none rise to this level. Popping fireworks in chapter eight offer wide stage engagement and potent punch, clear even above heavy-hitting music. Various party and other environmental din is perfectly balanced and integrated. Dialogue is clear, well prioritized, and housed in a front-center position.

Booksmart Blu-ray Movie, Special Features and Extras 

Booksmart contains a well-rounded collection of extra content, including a commentary track, deleted scenes, a making-of, two featurettes, a still gallery, and a trailer. A Movies Anywhere digital copy code is included with purchase. This release ships with a non-embossed slipcover.

• Audio Commentary: Director Olivia Wilde explores the film in detail, including characters and their personalities, story themes and angles, film construction and narrative deconstruction, actors and performances, and even some technical details.
• Deleted Scenes (1080p, 4:42): Included are The Full Dance Fantasy, Miss Fine Talking to Herself, and Amy Distracting Cops.
• Booksmart: The Next 'Best High School Comedy' (1080p, 17:47): An exploration of the movie's story, themes, characters, cast, the film's technical merits, and much more.
• Pliés and Jazz Hands: The Dance Fantasy (1080p, 2:24): A brief look at one of the movie's key sequences.
• Dressing Booksmart (1080p, 2:41): Quickly deconstructing the movie's wardrobe.
• Gallery (1080p): Still images from the set which can be advanced automatically or manually.
• Booksmart Theatrical Trailer (1080p, 2:27).
• Sneak Peek (1080p): Trailers for Sorry to Bother You, Stuber, and Missing Link.

Booksmart Blu-ray Movie, Overall Score and Recommendation 

Booksmart won't win any awards for creativity, but it's a passably agreeable little romp through one night of lifted inhibitions and shifted focuses for two girls on the cusp of graduation and on the verge of self discovery. Fox's Blu-ray delivers high end video and audio along with a nice assortment of extra content. Recommended.