Coming of Age Films—Booksmart

Ah yes, that major transition in life, graduating from high school. We’ve seen it in film after film—but it’s a little different here. Written by Emily Halpern, Sarah Haskins, Susanna Fogel and Katie Silberman, Booksmart [2019] tells the story of Amy and Molly, two high school friends who are, well, smart. But as they’re about to make that transition of heading to college, they realize that they’re seen as JUST smart and they feel they’re so much more.

“Nobody knows we’re fun,” Molly says to Amy. So they decide to break out of the stereotypical egghead moniker and SHOW everyone just how much fun they are.

Take a look at the trailer for the film: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Uhd3lo_IWJc

Ah, the stuff comedy is made of.

What makes this film so clever, beyond the tried and true premise, is the witty dialogue. In one respect, it seems right on the money—it sounds like real teens are talking, not some characters just made up to fit the premise of the film. But it’s more than that, because these teens are a step above the average teen—even the average smart teen—and they talk in rapid-fire exchanges that make us work to keep up.

While listening to dialogue like that seems just right—because it’s so natural, so real—writing that kind of dialogue can be really tough. It’s often hard to make ‘real’ sound spontaneous and not labored. So this can take work.

Another aspect of the film that adds to its momentum, is that it operates under a kind of time clock—that ticking clock that makes the action even more edge-of-your-seat. Having realized that they’ve effectively used high school to show how smart they are, they have the revelation that they’ve been studying too hard and not playing enough… not having the good time in high school that everyone else seems to be having.

How to solve this dilemma? Cram a year’s worth of fun into one night. That’s right, they go wild.

So the ticking clock aspect adds to the urgency of the plot, but it also sets these two up for one hilarious episode after another—because they have no experience having the kind of fun that they see their peers having. They don’t really know how to go about it, and that launches them into one uproarious escapade after another.

As a writer, how can understanding this kind of film help with your own writing? I think it’s one of those films to really study. Analyze the structure, take a scene or two and notice how the dialogue of these two sparkles. Ask yourself how the writers did that? Just rip it apart and see what you can find. In many ways, that’s your job as a writer, to get to the bottom of what makes good writing and use that knowledge to improve your own.

So go to it!

Copyright © Diane Lake

28Nov21

Email Diane a question to Diane@DianeLake.com