Summary
- Bottoms is a raunchy R-rated comedy that breaks the mold by featuring queer high school students instead of the typical straight characters.
- The film follows PJ and Josie as they start a fight club in an attempt to have sex before graduation, leading to an exploration of their true identities.
- After facing obstacles and betrayals, PJ and Josie, along with their friends, come together to save their school in a climactic fight scene, resulting in reconciliation and celebration.
Bottoms is the return of a genre that Hollywood has not seen in some time. The film is a raunchy and irreverent R-rated comedy that studios are scared to make anymore. Those films typically followed straight heterosexual characters in an attempt to lose their virginity. Bottoms decides to turn that premise on its head. The story follows two unpopular-queer high school students, PJ (Rachel Sennott) and Josie (Ayo Edebiri), who start a fight club. PJ and Josie’s purpose is to start this club so they can have sex before graduation. What follows is an attempt to uncover who they really are.
PJ and Josie are at the bottom of their high school's hierarchy and are reminded of that every day. Both girls have some friends like Hazel (Ruby Cruz) but still pine for those they can’t have. PJ is crushing on the popular girl Brittany (Kaia Gerber), while Josie is pining for Isabel (Havana Rose Liu). The only catch is that Isabel is dating the school's leading athlete, Jeff (Nicholas Galitzine).
The girl decides the only way to meet someone is to start a fight club. They get a few recruits and a teacher, Mr. G (Marshawn Lynch), to chaperon the event. The club is starting to form, and the girls are building trust with one another (Through building a bomb to blow up Jeff’s car). Tim (Miles Fowler), Jeff’s right-hand man, has other plans.
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The Club Is No More
After PJ and Hazel fight about the club's real purpose, everything seems okay. That is until Tim overhears the commotion and begins planning something to disrupt them all. PJ tries to make a move on Brittany but is disappointed to find out Brittany is straight. Meanwhile, Josie and Isabel get to have a romantic night together. Things are going great for Josie, while PJ is trying to accept what has happened. It is not until the school's pepper ally that certain secrets come to light. That is due to Tim’s investigation into PJ and Hazel’s supposed juvie past.
The pepper ally begins, and things are really starting to heat up. Josie admits to PJ she spent the night with Isabel. PJ is obviously jealous at this, but the pepper ally is now underway. Besides the football team's sexist mantras, they call Hazel down onto the court. Tim sets a performance involving Hazel fighting one of the school's wrestlers. After she loses, Tim reveals the truth about PJ and Josie’s supposed “juvie past.” This revelation turns the club and practically the entire school against PJ and Josie. They both get into a fight, making it seem like their friendship is over.
Everyone is splintered and mourning the friendships they made in the club. PJ is eating spaghetti-o’s alone while the rest of the club rallies around Hazel. Josie goes to visit her old friend Rhodes (Punkie Johnson). She warns Josie of the brutal rivalry between football teams, commenting on the fights that occur. This makes Josie realize that their school is in trouble. She realizes that to save the school, she needs to get the club back together. She is able to reconcile with PJ as the infamous football game between Rockridge and Huntington begins.
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The Bottoms Have to Rise Up
PJ and Josie rush to the stadium as the game is about to begin. The Cheerleaders (Isabel and Brittany) are starting their cheer as the girls rush to recruit the rest of the club. After some convincing, Annie (Zamani Wilder), Sylvie (Summer Joy Campbell), and Hazel are able to join the fight. Annie reminds the girls of the football games' crooked histories and the violence that occurs before they begin. The girls decide they need a distraction and rely on Hazel to build a bomb. When the bomb fails to detonate, the girls realize the shady technique Huntington is using.
Huntington has put pineapple into the sprinklers on the field. With Jeff being deathly allergic to pineapple (which the film references earlier), the girls decide they need to delay the game. When their efforts fail, they realize they can do only one thing. Hazel and PJ decide to kiss to try and distract from the game starting. That distraction works until the Huntington players arrive, with tensions between the teams at a high. When Huntington gets the upper hand in a fight against Jeff, the girls decide they need to join it.
A brutal hand-to-hand fight scene occurs between the girls and Huntington. They manage to save the team, and Josie specifically manages to save Jeff. Once the girls win the fight against Huntington, everyone is able to reconcile. Josie and Hazel kiss and make up while PJ and Hazel hold hands to greet the rest of their friends.
As everyone celebrates, Hazel’s bomb detonates. The group looks on in a wide shot as the credits begin to roll and the bloopers arrive. While everyone gets their happy ever after, the bloopers show the fun involved in making the film. It just goes to show that the infectious joy of this cast could make Bottoms the surprise hit of the summer.
