Rachel Sennott, the actor and comedian, recently stole every second of her screentime in Bodies Bodies Bodies, the stressful slasher from A24 and director Halina Reijn. But it was Emma Seligman’s Shiva Baby — a film about a hellish day in the life of one twenty-something juggling a sugar daddy, an annoyingly successful ex, and, of course, a family shiva — that cemented her on-screen stardom. Her next project seems to follow in the vein of these off-beat, impressive indie movies, reuniting her with Emma to be the lead in (and co-write the script for) Bottoms. Premiering at SXSW in Texas, the reviews — as well as a new clip, featuring Red, White and Royal Blue’s Nicholas Galitzine as a douchy jock —suggest the movie is just as raucous and funny as we’ve come to expect.
So what’s this one about? Who’s in the cast? What are those reviews like? And is Charli XCX really writing a score for it? Here’s everything we know about the upcoming film.
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What’s the plot of Bottoms?
Bottoms is a high school sex comedy about two unpopular queer girls played by Rachel Sennott and The Bear’s Ayo Edebiri. In the time-honoured tradition of many American films in the genre, their goal is to have sex before they graduate — so the pair (naturally) start a fight club in order to capture the attention of the cheerleaders they are attempting to woo. Shakespeare wishes he came up with this one.
In a recent interview with Entertainment Weekly, Rachel named a few of the film’s inspirations: “We had references in our mind in terms of Scott Pilgrim, Jennifer’s Body, Jawbreaker… all these different movies,” she says. “But we also wanted to make sure we weren’t [just] doing one and that it was a mashup of genres. It’s a campy high school movie, but it’s also an action movie.”
Perhaps unexpectedly, Bottoms apparently contains a fair share of gore. Body horror fans rejoice! “I think no one actually thought that we were gonna make it bloody,” Rachel adds. When the film’s official logline came out, including the phrase ‘fight club’, confusion ensued. “We had our producers calling […] they were like, ‘Just for clarity, it’s not actually a fight club…?’ We were like, ‘It’s a fight club!'”
Who’s in the cast? And who’s behind the camera?
The cast (apart from Rachel and Ayo) includes i-D cover star Kaia Gerber, Marshawn Lynch, Ruby Cruz, Havana Rose Liu, Nicholas Galitzine, Miles Fowler, Punkie Johnson, and Succession’s Dagmara Dominczyk. Lacey Dover and Alexis Horrigan will both play cheerleaders, with Shiva Baby’s Emma Seligman directing the film. Rachel co-wrote the script with her too.
What are the reviews like?
The film premiered at SXSW on 11 March to positive reviews. In theirs, Rolling Stone called it “the horniest, bloodiest high school movie of the 21st century,” adding that “what Seligman, Sennott and Edebiri have given us is nothing less than a Heathers for this generation. It hits you, and it feels like a kiss.” The Film Stage called it “riotous” and “hyper-violent”. Little White Lies claimed it will “usher in” a new era of queer high school comedies. It currently has a score of 98% on Rotten Tomatoes.
Wait, how is Charli XCX involved?
Reviewers have also praised the film’s “inspired electronic score”, a soundtrack co-written by composer Leo Birenberg and (surprise!) pop icon Charli XCX. It’s not the first time Charli has adjusted her creative focus to something more cinematic — lest we forget Bodies Bodies Bodies banger “Hot Girl”, Barbie chase scene anthem “Speed Drive”, and, of course, her first ever big hit “Boom Clap”, written for The Fault In Our Stars — and it won’t be the last. The musician is also said to be teaming up with Jack Antonoff to write songs for Mother Mary, a new A24 ‘epic’ about the relationship between a pop star and a fashion designer. Academy Award era incoming?
Is there a trailer?
There is! With nowhere to go but up, our favourite ugly, untalented gays are shooting their shot with cheerleader crushes Brittany and Isabel, played by Kaia Gerber and Havana Rose Liu. Punches are thrown, women are empowered, suspenders are worn. Check it out for yourself above.
When is the release date?
Bottoms will be theatrically released on August 25, 2023.
This story was originally published on 23 March 2023 and has been updated with new details.