Bottomsis the latest R-rated teen sex comedy directed byEmma Seligmanand starringRachel SennottandAyo Edebiri. The film follows PJ and Josie, two unpopular teens who in an attempt to lose their virginities and hook up with cheerleaders, decide to start a fight club at their school, where students beat each other up in the name of self-defense. While their plans initially seem to go over well, as they soon become popular figures in their school, they find themselves in hot water as their continued lies spiral out of control, as well as attention is taken away from the school’s football team.
It’s been a while since the world has seen a great R-rated teen movie likeBottoms, especially one that is filled to the brim with love for the genre and its conventions as a whole. Whether it’s a classic of the genre or a modern comedy with similar comedic stylings,there is no shortage of great comedies for those who are a fan of the signature in-your-face style ofBottoms.
13’Shiva Baby' (2020)
Director: Emma Seligman
The previous film collaboration between Seligman and Sennott,Shiva Babysees college student Danielle attending a family shiva, where just about everything that can go wrong does go wrong. At the shiva, she is constantly accosted by her relatives, outshined and overshadowed by her more successful ex-girlfriend, and even has an unexpected face-to-face with her sugar daddy and his family.
While definitely a different style of comedy than Seligman and Sennott’s work inBottoms,Shiva Babyis still stock full of great comedic chaos and tension, proving the comedic strengths the duo had from the beginning. Even with the film following a much more dramatic and grounded style of comedy,Seligman’s signature comedic writing style and Sennott’s spectacular comedic acting ability are both on full displayin thisshort yet highly memorable movie.
Shiva Baby
12’Do Revenge' (2022)
Director: Jennifer Kaytin Robinson
Do Revengefollows the story of Drea, the once queen bee at her private high school who was recently dethroned after an intimate video of her was leaked online by her boyfriend. Now at the bottom of her school’s pecking order, Drea finds herself teaming up with another social outcast, Eleanor, and the two team up to get revenge on the people who destroyed each other’s social lives.
Much likeBottoms,Do Revengeis a modern, satirical take, on the classic high school teen movies of old.What makesDo Revengestand out is its implementation and evolution of these characters and themes in a modern-day setting.The usage of social media, the internet, and modern philosophies, while still sticking to the cut-throat mean-spirited nature of high school, makes for a highly engaging and fulfilling watch.
Do Revenge
11’Plan B' (2021)
Director: Natalie Morales
In the same vein asBottoms,Plan Bis a coming-of-age R-rated comedy that follows a duo of female best friends who embark on a life-altering journey together. The film sees the duo traveling across the countryside in search of aPlan Bpill, after Sunny has a highly regrettable first sexual encounter at a party. However, their quest proves to be much more difficult than presumed, as they encounter a wide number of strange characters and unexpected hurdles as the 24-hour window rapidly depletes.
While not as directly satirical asBottoms,Plan Bhas a similarly absurdist and raunchy style of comedy that is sure to resonate with fans ofBottoms.Plan Balso features a core powerful message about the importance of female friendship and acceptance, themes that are sure to ring true to fans ofBottomsand its positive messaging.Plan Bis easily one ofthe most underrated teen movies in recent memory, and is sure to delight those that are willing to give it a chance.
10’Bodies Bodies Bodies' (2022)
Director: Halina Reijn
Bodies Bodies Bodiesfollows a group of 20-something friends who find themselves stuck at a remote mansion in the middle of a hurricane. After a spooky party game goes wrong and a dead body is found, the entire friend group is quick to accuse one another as they attempt to find the killer hidden among them.
Bodies Bodies Bodiestakes a classic horror whodunnit story and adds its flair of hilarious modern-day comedy and satireto make one of the most original whodunnits in recent memory. The film also features a top-notch supporting performance from Sennott, who shows off her acting chops in a character very similar to that of her character inBottoms. Even if you aren’t a fan of horror movies, there are a lot of genuine hilarious moments and payoffs that makeBodies Bodies Bodiesworth your time.
Bodies Bodies Bodies
9’Lisa Frankenstein' (2024)
Director: Zelda Williams
From DirectorZelda Williamsandaward-winning screenwriterDiablo Cody,Lisa Frankensteinfollows the story of Lisa, a misunderstood social outcast high schooler in 1989. However, she soon makes an unexpected friendship with a surprisingly handsome corpse who finds his way to her home in the middle of the night. However, his existence as a living dead must be kept a secret, and as the attempts to keep him a secret continue, a body count consisting of Lisa’s family and classmates begins to arise.
BottomsandLisa Frankensteinshare the facet of both being satirical teen movies with a killer, bloody twist, yet whileBottomsleans more into action and comedy,Lisa Frankensteinleans into horror and romance. Yet,Lisa Frankensteinstill gets a great deal of campy, over-the-top comedy as a result of its violence, 80s trends and cliches, and cartoonishly over-the-top characters. Both films have a similar style of humor, making for an excellent double feature of coming-of-age violence.
Lisa Frankenstein
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8’Joy Ride' (2023)
Director: Adele Lim
Joy Ridefollows the story of four Asian-American friends who decide to follow their childhood dreams and travel through Asia to search for one of their birth mothers. They encounter several massive hurdles on their trip, however, as their experience soon becomes one that tests the limit of their friendship.
Joy Ridewas one of the other major R-rated comedies to get released in 2023 alongsideBottoms, and similarly toBottoms, follows a female-led group in a series of raunchy and extravagant adventures. It also similarly follows themes of long-lasting friendships and bonding, and while it may lean harder into its familial themes than comedy by the end,Joy Ridestill features a lot of great, provocative R-rated comedic moments.
7’Booksmart' (2019)
Director: Olivia Wilde
Booksmartfollows the story of two academic superstars Molly and Amy, who despite being on the verge of graduation, feel as though they’ve wasted their high school years and haven’t lived to the fullest. Now on the night before their graduation, and determined to prove to their peers that they have what it takes, the girls set out on a night of pure chaos as they attempt to cram in 4 years of high school fun into one night.
Similar toBottoms,Booksmarttakes a lot of cues from the classic teen movies of old, yet adds its own modernistic, LGBTQ+ spinon things to make it fresh and exciting for a new audience. The humor is also top-notch inBooksmart, with a number of standout comedic sequences thanks to the great comedic performances ofBeanie FeldsteinandKaitlyn Dever.BottomsandBooksmartalso both take a lot of inspiration from classic raunchyteen movies of the early 2000s, paralleling the themes and strengths of classics such asSuperbadandAmerican Pie.
Booksmart is a comedy film directed by Olivia Wilde and follows two studious and by-the-book high school seniors who decide on their final day of school to shake up the formula and break some rules. Having lamented missing four potential years of fun and friendship, the best friends attempt to cram four years of the “high school experience” into a single night.
6’But I’m a Cheerleader' (1999)
Director: Jamie Babbit
But I’m a Cheerleaderfollows the story of Megan, an all-American girl and cheerleader with a boyfriend whom she cares about, yet unlike other girls, she doesn’t enjoy getting intimate with her special someone. This on top of other concerns has Megan’s parents worry about her being a lesbian, so they send her off to a “sexual redirection” school where she will, along with similar peers, learn how to be straight.
Similarly toBottoms,But I’m a Cheerleaderis an LGBTQ+ satirethat pokes fun at misconceptions and dated homophobia in a tongue-in-cheek waythat adds levity and humor to an otherwise serious topic. They both feature a lot of key coming-of-age themes and teen movie conventions throughout, althoughBut I’m a Cheerleader’s 90s-era filmmaking style makes it feel more like 90s teen movies than the 2000s ones thatBottomsmore directly satirizes.
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5’Mean Girls' (2004)
Director: Mark Waters
Mean Girlsfollows the story of new student Cady Heron, who quickly after entering a traditional American high school for the first time, finds herself as the newest member of The Plastics, the top of the social pecking order at the school. Led by the notorious Regina George, Cady soon learns from the plastics and can survive high school, until she places a target on her back by falling for Regina’s ex-boyfriend, Aaron Samuels.
Bottomsis a direct satire of the trends and conventions of raunchy teen movies of the 2000s, of whichMean Girlswas the uncontested queen of the subgenre. Complete with its female-led social group and messages about female companionship and togetherness,Mean Girlsset the bar for raunchy female-led teen comediesthatBottomswould use as a primary inspiration.Time will only tell ifBottomswill have the same level of legacy on teen movies in the 2020s thatMean Girlsdid in the 2000s.
Mean Girls
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4’Ghost World' (2001)
Director: Terry Zwigoff
Ghost Worldfollows the duo of Enid and Rebecca, two recently graduated quirky teenagers who are still wandering through life and trying to figure out what exactly to do with their lives. Their lives take a turn after they play a prank on a strange, middle-aged record collector, and soon after, Enid begins an unlikely friendship with the man. This new friendship quickly creates a divide between Enid and Rebecca, as Enid finds herself more and more focused on her new friendship while Rebecca is finally starting to progress through life.
Similarly toBottoms,Ghost Worldalso follows a duo of quirky and cynical high school girls and excels greatly from their inherent on-screen chemistry and a variety of hilarious dialogue-based comedy.Ghost WorldandBottoms' shared R-rating also allows both films to go much more extreme when it comes to comedyas well as more adult themes that couldn’t easily be explored in a PG-13 film.
Ghost World
Ghost World, directed by Terry Zwigoff, follows the lives of two cynical teenage outcasts, Enid and Rebecca, after their high school graduation. Thora Birch and Scarlett Johansson star as the friends navigating the complexities of adulthood while forming an unexpected connection with a lonely, middle-aged man named Seymour, played by Steve Buscemi. The film is based on Daniel Clowes' graphic novel of the same name.
