Emma Seligman and Rachel Sennott’s new movie “Bottoms” has swept the nation, consuming the hearts, minds and TikTok feeds of many. The “lesbian fight club” flick seems well on its way to becoming a new staple to modern teen movies. What makes it so good? you might ask. I’d say it has a little something to do with a term I like to call, “Loser Girl Cinema.”
Loser Girl Cinema is all about the underdogs. It’s about the girls that would most likely be shoved into lockers or dunked into toilets in a classic 90s movie. It’s about the girls who had a very memorable awkward phase and most likely concocted elaborate fantasies about their crushes in their daydreams. Except this time they aren’t the people that fade into the background. They are front and center, the main characters.
This coming-of-age subgenre differentiates itself from other movies featuring main characters who are “losers” because of its apparent lack of the iconic makeover scene. You know, the ones where the girl takes off her glasses and all of a sudden she’s prom queen. Loser Girl Cinema doesn’t focus on fundamentally changing these beloved, so-called loser girls. They are flawed, wild, weird and spunky, yet still deserving of the spotlight and a happy ending in their own stories. It is authentic stories like these that resonate with many audiences today and remind them of their own awkward high school experiences. This subgenre is gaining more and more popularity and I have three great movie suggestions that fall within it.
I was introduced to Loser Girl Cinema when I first watched one of my favorite movies, “The Edge of Seventeen.” This is an incredibly raw and hilarious coming-of-age story about a girl named Nadine who’s trying to navigate life as a teenage girl after the passing of her father. Determined to escape her awkward years, Nadine tries her best to fit in by attending parties and even flirting with her crush while it feels like her whole world is crashing down around her. This movie is often funny, light-hearted and a little too relatable at times, but it also deals with more serious topics, including grief, mental health and complex relationships. As her life rapidly changes, Nadine feels a lot of people in her life slowly slip away as their relationships become strained. However, through this, we can accompany her on her journey of self-discovery and girlhood, which is precisely what Loser Girl Cinema is all about.
As I continued my journey within Loser Girl Cinema, I came across the movie “Booksmart.” It features two best friends, Molly and Amy, who regretfully realize they’ve spent their entire high school careers nose-deep in books and schoolwork and decide to have one wild night before they graduate. This movie is hilarious and truly unhinged. Through hallucinogens, crazy parties and not-so-sexy kisses in the bathroom, the girls quickly find out what they’ve been missing out on during their high school years. Its multifaceted approach also highlights the importance of the subgenre by focusing on the importance of friendship, the effects of academic burnout and going after what you want. The romance is fun and light-hearted and includes some LGBTQ+ representation as well.
The most recent Loser Girl Cinema sensation is of course the movie “Bottoms.” PJ and Josie are the epitome of what you would consider loser girls who plan to get with their popular crushes by forming a fight club for women. Their scheming doesn’t go exactly to plan and eventually, the fight club ends up being a source of empowerment, helping the girls form strong bonds. However, they still must deal with constant judgment from boys who act a bit like caricatures of the classic “dumb jock.” As the movie reaches its climax, it slowly turns into what I can only describe as the best kind of fever dream with amazing fight scenes and maybe a small-scale bomb or two. This is a movie with characters who are flawed and different, but by the end, are still entirely themselves (just maybe with a slightly better reputation than where they started). With a diverse cast and incredible LGBTQ+ representation, “Bottoms” easily climbs the ranks as one of the best Loser Girl Cinema films of all time.
All three of these movies are incredibly unique and it’s their quirks that make them fit into the Loser Girl Cinema genre. With real and relatable characters, embarrassing crush interactions and complex friendships, a different kind of high school experience is now being represented on the big screen. This genre connects to the many people who feel like they probably didn’t peak in high school. Not only do these movies deliver great comedy but they also touch on important issues. It’s this emotional connection that resonates with many audience members and makes them feel seen. Loser Girl Cinema movies include storylines that are refreshing, hysterical and authentic as they usher in a new era of the coming-of-age genre.