Bottoms (2023 film)

“Shiva Baby” had set me up to expect Seligman to emerge as a standard setter in understated humor, an expectation she destroys in the best possible way with “Bottoms”. A pitch-black send-up of teenage sex comedies that avoids embracing nihilism thanks to its use of uproarious slapstick, the escalation of humor is such that the bizarre violence near the end of the film feels like an earned punchline rather than edgelord fuel. Similar acclaimed feminist-leaning films like “Booksmart” and “Barbie” (yep) might be more insightful, but “Bottoms” is more entertaining than its contemporaries by a considerable margin. “Robocop” meets “Heathers”.

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