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Staff & contributors

Do you keep re-watching Superbad when you're hungover? Next time you are, try the film that has been praised as 'the female Superbad”: the amazing Booksmart. Yes, it's coming-of-age comedy, but, like Superbad, it tried something a little different. Like its two main characters, one could say it's a bit smarter than Greg Mottola's seminal bromedy. Molly (Beanie Feldstein, incidentally, Jonah Hill's younger sister) and Amy (Kaitlyn Dever) are best friends, class presidents, and academic overachievers. Nice girls, too. With excellent grades in their pockets, they head off to college only to find that the same in-crowd from high school that was doing nothing but partying, now goes to the same college as them. Why, oh why, did they choose academic success over partying, when, clearly, they could have had both? On their last day in high school, now here's a trope, they decide to make up for all the years of lost partying on one night. This sets off a raucous, raunchy, and wildly entertaining ride. And with a feminist twist!

Genre: Comedy

Actor: Adam Krist, Austin Crute, Beanie Feldstein, Ben Harris, Billie Lourd, Billie Lourde, Christopher Avila, David Horton, Deb Hiett, Diana Silvers, Eduardo Franco, Ellen Doyle, Jason Sudeikis, Jessica Williams, John Hartman, Kaitlyn Dever, Kyle Samples, Lisa Kudrow, Mason Gooding, Maya Rudolph, Michael Patrick O'Brien, Mike O'Brien, Molly Gordon, Nico Hiraga, Noah Galvin, Skyler Gisondo, Stephanie Styles, Victoria Ruesga, Will Forte

Director: Olivia Wilde

Rating: R

It’s best not to overthink the details of No Hard Feelings, an uproarious comedy that benefits from the lead actors’ physicality. It’s meant to be enjoyed as it happens, at the moment, with Lawrence lighting up every scene with full-bodied commitment and Feldman, a worthy co-lead, delighting at every turn. They’re playing stock characters, and the script doesn’t give much beyond the usual backstories, but Lawrence and Feldman play them with so much heart and gusto, knocking every scene they’re in out of the park. Everything else plays second fiddle to their two-hander show. The cameos are star-studded but forgettable (except for Kyle Mooney, who I wished was onscreen more as Percy’s male nanny), the character development is heartwarming but predictable, and though it bills itself as a sex comedy, the film never really touches past third base. But all that is water under the bridge when you’re watching Maddie and Percy flirt and fumble their way through the film.  

Genre: Comedy, Drama, Romance

Actor: Alysia Joy Powell, Amalia Yoo, Andrew Barth Feldman, Ebon Moss-Bachrach, Hasan Minhaj, Jennifer Lawrence, Jordan Mendoza, Kyle Mooney, Laura Benanti, Luca Padovan, Matt Walton, Matthew Broderick, Matthew Noszka, Natalie Morales, Quincy Dunn-Baker, Scott MacArthur, Victor Verhaeghe, Zahn McClarnon

Director: Gene Stupnitsky

Rating: R

Anna Kendrick and Blake Lively star in this crime-comedy as two opposite mom personalities: one a stay-at-home food vlogger, and the other an upper-class businesswoman.

Kendrick’s character (Stephanie, the vlogger mom) agrees to pick up her new friend’s kid from school. However, the kid’s mom disappears, leaving Stephanie to lead an investigation on her own into what happened.

This is a funny no-brainer carried by the two leads’ unlikely but genuine chemistry.

Genre: Comedy, Crime, Drama, Mystery, Thriller

Actor: Andrew Moodie, Andrew Rannells, Anna Kendrick, Aparna Nancherla, Bashir Salahuddin, Blake Lively, Chris Owens, Corinne Conley, Danielle Bourgon, Dustin Milligan, Eric Johnson, Gia Sandhu, Glenda Braganza, Henry Golding, Howard Hoover, Ian Ho, Jamie Jones, Jean Smart, Jiah Mavji, Joshua Satine, Jung-Yul Kim, Katherine Cullen, Kelly McCormack, Lauren Peters, Lesleh Donaldson, Lila Yee, Linda Cardellini, Melissa O'Neil, Melody Johnson, Nicole Peters, Noorin Gulamgaus, Olivia Sandoval, Patti Harrison, Paul Feig, Roger Dunn, Ronnie Rowe, Rosanna Scotto, Rupert Friend, Sarah Baker, Stacey Coke, Sugenja Sri, Umed Amin, Zach Smadu

Director: Paul Feig

Rating: R