Many like me won't be able to follow the film's pacing. Booksmart is a supercharged coming-to-age film filled with so many themes, tropes, and jokes that it is hard to follow.
Olivia Wilde is overdoing it. Her directing style is, despite appearances, pretty conventional, but it appears unconventional because it is overstated. It doesn't hide the film's themes, instead, it lessens their impact. Honestly, the screenplay played a part in this issue, it is too dense, and the pacing, as I said in the intro, is inappropriate considering the film's runtime. In brief, Booksmart is flawed at a different level of filmmaking for making little use of cinema's capability as a distinct medium.
There are some things that Book Smart does right though, at least in the acting aspect... Kaitlyn Dever and Beanie Feldstein insufflate energy and confidence in their roles for their characters to feel different from the nerds you actually see in coming-to-age films. It is also the vehicle for the film's greatest gags.
Olivia Wilde is overdoing it. Her directing style is, despite appearances, pretty conventional, but it appears unconventional because it is overstated. It doesn't hide the film's themes, instead, it lessens their impact. Honestly, the screenplay played a part in this issue, it is too dense, and the pacing, as I said in the intro, is inappropriate considering the film's runtime. In brief, Booksmart is flawed at a different level of filmmaking for making little use of cinema's capability as a distinct medium.
There are some things that Book Smart does right though, at least in the acting aspect... Kaitlyn Dever and Beanie Feldstein insufflate energy and confidence in their roles for their characters to feel different from the nerds you actually see in coming-to-age films. It is also the vehicle for the film's greatest gags.