Booksmart

Booksmart is a great movie that's unfortunately been lumped in with Judd Apatow's output. I saw it described as "a female version of  Superbad" or something similar in a lot of places. And now here as well, I guess. It put me off watching it for the longest time.
 And I get it; Superbad was successful, and it's not too bad a comedy, probably because Apatow didn't write or direct it. But it's still a completely unfair comparison to Booksmart; Olivia Wilde's movie is much better crafted, and written. While it's still kind of a shaggy dog story, it doesn't have that formless, mostly filler feel that most Apatow or post-Apatow comedies have.
 If nothing else, it's got an eye for good shots and interesting scenery. I mean, look at this interior shot of a cab:

And it is fucking hilarious. A lot of the time; The joke hit ratio is so good here. Unless any part of the phrase 'inclusive, female-led, queer-friendly teen sex comedy' puts you off, this is as close to an universally-likeable movie as I can think of. 

 It's not a plot-heavy film. BFFs Amy and Molly have spent their four years in high-school in voluntary abstinence from any form of partying or fun to concentrate on their grades. On graduation eve, Molly discovers that some of her classmates have made it to good universities, despite being less than model students. So off she goes on a misguided quest to live it up before graduation, and drags Amy along with her.
 A few vignettes follow on their quest to make it to the graduation party; a near-empty yacht party, a murder mystery dinner, and other misadventures - your typical 'one crazy night' story, but one where each of the scenes sheds some light on one secondary character or the other and reinforces a gentle 'maybe don't judge?' messaging.

 The acting is grand, with the two central characters (Kaitlyn Dever and Beanie Feldstein) giving great, very empathetic performances -they have a great comedic chemistry going on- and a ton of memorable characters in the periphery. Billie Louder as an omnipresent weirdo goofball one-percenter is a highlight.
 And yeah, lessons will be learnt, maybe its characters will grow up a little; Another trick from Superbad and Apatow's book, but here it doesn't come out of the blue or sound preachy; it's baked into the movie's premise, and developed from scene to scene. The movie comes by its plot points honestly. It earns any formulaic beats by carefully building up to them, keeping its characters coherent, and being damn funny every step of the way.