I recently rewatched "Booksmart," a coming-of-age film centered around two best friends, Amy (Kaitlyn Dever) and Molly (Beanie Feldstein), who embark on a night of fun and out of their comfort zone after realizing they spend their entire high school years looking down on their peers who partied.
The movie, in my opinion, joins recent teenage coming-of-age films, like "Lady Bird" (2017) and "Eighth Grade" (2018), that set themselves apart from the typical coming of age stories.
"Booksmart" is a love story, but not the typical "nerd falls in love with jock then takes off her glasses and realizes she's pretty and deserves better" love story. It tells the story of two teenage girls learning to love themselves and each other. None of it is romantic - though the movie does have some romantic interests - which makes the story all that much more realistic.
The other films I mentioned also steered away from a plot centered around a romantic interest. "Eighth Grade" follows 13-year-old Kayla (Elsie Fisher) in her final week of middle school while she copes with anxiety and fitting in. The movie leaves the viewer hopeful as Kayla starts the next chapter of her life, high school.
Similarly, "Lady Bird" follows the titular character as she begins her next chapter, college (in a new city), and her rocky relationship with her mother.
So, what sparked this turn in teenage comedies?
In a 2016 article, before these aforementioned films released, the LA Times said:
"New classes of coming-of-age movies also tend to happen when the next generation graduates to filmmaker age and in effect tries to make movies about the generation behind it--the teenagers that they don’t (or are trying to) understand."
This can maybe speak true to Eighth Grade's use of social media and phones with Gen-Z, but other than that these movies don't seem to long to understand some inexplicable generation. Instead, they tell a simple, personal story everyone can relate to. Being a goody-two-shoes that realizes it too late, struggling with anxiety, and fighting but nevertheless loving our parent(s).
These are all deeply personal topics that can be difficult to convey on the big screen in a two-hour time frame, but when done right, they become cult classics.
