Booksmart

Most actors that develop a reputation of being the lone great element in routinely-awful projects would take to firing their agent, but Olivia Wilde (“Turistas”) has elected to make her own films, and this debut is a fantastic start to what is hopefully a long second career behind the camera. “Booksmart” is basically a feature-length argument that, yes, comedy CAN succeed in a world of empathy and understanding, with the lone named character that ISN’T more than they seem perhaps being Billie Lourd’s scene-stealing turn as the psychotic Gigi. A hysterical, relatable, and surprisingly well-shot coming-of-age tale that flies by.

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