Bottoms: A Ludicrous and Queer High School Comedy

For Emma Seligman’s follow-up directorial effort to succeed in Shiva Baby, Booksmart, Mean Girls, and Heathers had to crawl first. Bottoms is a high school comedy that is both ludicrous and queer. It stars Rachel Sennott, who was the lead in Shiva Baby and co-wrote the script with Seligman, and Ayo Edebiri, the emerging star of The Bear. They play two lesbian teens trying to lose their virginity to the school’s hottest cheerleaders.

The Cast:

Rachel Sennott as PJ

PJ is a teenager with a lot of personality who is part of the unpopular set. She has few friends other than her best pals, Josie and Hazel, but she has a lot of people who like her. She is the one who suggested the establishment of a school fight club so that she might get the attention of Brittany, a cheerleader who is the object of her huge crush. As stated earlier, Sennott not only played the role of PJ in the movie but also contributed to writing the script for Bottoms. The actress and creative worked with Seligman on the project Shiva Baby in 2020. Since then, she has starred in the films Bodies, Bodies, Bodies, and I Used to Be Funny, as well as The Weeknd’s controversial series The Idol. Sennott provided some insight into why she felt it was vital to develop a gay story that was light and humorous when she was working on Bottoms by discussing some of her thoughts in an interview with Queerty: “I get the impression that a lot of the time when it comes to LGBT storylines, it’s either this tragic, devastating, which we love, but are theatrical films or too dazzling. We wanted to go into this genre and be able to have these characters, and let the jokes go all the way there and not feel like we have to make them be too good or put them in a devastating situation.” It’s like saying, “I’m gay, and at the end of a two-hour movie, I’ll kiss someone on the lips for three seconds.”

Ayo Edebiri as Josie

In contrast to her close buddy PJ, Josie is more reserved and awkward in social situations. She decides to participate in PJ’s wacky notion of starting a fight club since she is also interested in attracting the attention of another cheerleader, Isabel, her crush. However, there is a catch: Isabel is now dating Jeff, a jock at her school who also happens to play on the football team. It is not the first time Ayo Edebiri has appeared alongside Rachel Sennott in a film or television production. Ayo and Rachel Are Single was a series on Comedy Central that they were a part of. However, it lasted only a short time. Edebiri, much like Sennott, has some writing credits to his name, including episodes of What We Do in the Shadows and Dickinson. As a result of her performance as a chef named Sydney Adamu in the television show The Bear, which airs on FX, she has recently become a well-known figure in the Hollywood industry.

Nicholas Galitzine as Jeff

Josie has a crush on Isabel, now dating Jeff, the stereotypical quarterback in a relationship. He is seen as the film’s antagonist because of his efforts to thwart PJ and Josie’s plans to start a fight club. Despite his good looks, he has a history of violence and plays this role. Nicholas Galitzine’s performances in many young adult films over the past several years, notably the newly released Red, White, and Royal Blue, where he co-starred with Taylor Zakhar Perez, have earned him positive attention. Other well-known roles that Galitizine has played include Luke in the Netflix original series Purple Hearts and Prince Robert in the 2021 adaptation of Cinderella.

Havana Rose Liu as Isabel

Josie can’t help but notice how stunning Isabel is, and she quickly becomes the center of her attention. In addition to that, she becomes a member of the fight club that PJ and Josie have established. Isabel may be popular and dating the quarterback. Still, she hides something from everyone, hoping no one finds out. Havana Rose Liu got her start in the fashion industry as a model and has appeared on the cover of Vogue. Even though she has just recently started her career as an actress, she has already appeared in three other films before being cast in Bottoms. These films are The Sky is Everywhere, Mayday, and No Exit. During an interview with The Cut, Rose Liu discussed her role as Isabel in Seligman’s most recent film. During the conversation, she discussed how Isabel avoids being labeled in terms of her sexuality: “That is one of the aspects of her that I adore the most. Her narrative focuses on the depth of her connections with others rather than the gender or sexuality of those connections; she is more concerned with the nature of the connection than with how neatly it fits into a category. People have a right to feel seen and heard if some aspect of a situation can be interpreted in multiple ways or when there is some wiggle room. It was my intention to be ambiguous.

Kaia Gerber as Brittany

Like Isabel, Brittany is a cheerleading squad member and a popular crowd. In the movie, she plays the role of PJ’s primary romantic interest. Kaia Gerber is a well-known model and actress who has followed in her famous mother, Cindy Crawford’s footsteps in both fields. Both the original American Horror Story and its subsequent sequel, American Horror Stories, used her as an actor. In addition, Gerber appeared in a supporting role in the controversial three-hour-long epic Babylon, which Damien Chazelle directed.

Ruby Cruz as Hazel

PJ’s best friend and the head of the fight club is Hazel. PJ looks up to her. She is a misfit in the same way that PJ is. Ruby Cruz takes the character of Hazel in Seligman’s second film, Bottoms. She appeared in a few notable projects before her role in Seligman’s second film. She played the role of Jess Riley in the limited series Mare of Easttown on HBO, and she played a younger version of Annie Wilkes in the second season of the original series Castle Rock on Hulu.

Marshawn Lynch as Mr. G

Mr. G is an unconventional educator who, in the course of the story, ends up supporting PJ and Josie’s fight club. Before landing the part of Mr. G in Bottoms, former National Football League player Marshawn Lynch spent a significant amount of time with the Seattle Seahawks, where he was a team member for many years.

Miles Fowler as Tim

In every teen movie, there is always another character who acts as the jock’s sidekick. In this scenario, Jeff’s best friend is Tim, also a participant on the football team at the school. Miles Fowler, an up-and-coming actor who plays Tim in Bottoms, debuted in front of the camera a year ago as Trevor Daniels in the medical drama series The Resident.

Bottoms is a wacky coming-of-age project that showcases a talented ensemble cast. With its unique blend of humor and queer representation, the film promises to be a refreshing addition to the high school comedy genre. Already making waves in cinemas across the United States, Bottoms is set to captivate audiences worldwide starting September 1.