Why Booksmart Is the Best Coming-of-Age Movie
9 Reasons Booksmart Is the Greatest Coming-of-Age Film of Our Generation
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Booksmart brings diverse LGBTQ+ representation to the screen by including characters who are navigating their identities. Unlike many mainstream teen movies, Booksmart doesn't focus Amy's story on coming out. Her sexuality is never a punchline nor is lesbianism ever fetishised. The way the film paints society as very accepting of the LGBTQ+ community is also aspirational. No homophobic comments, slurs, and jokes are ever made by any of the classmates and Amy's religious parents are shown to be sweetly supportive.
The way the movie portrays Amy and her classmate Hope's (Diana Silvers) hookup scene is incredibly refreshing as well. It is not filmed for the male gaze, but rather to accurately portray first time hookups. In most movies, the hookup scenes are made to look pretty seamless and sexy when in reality they're filled with plenty of awkward moments.