Revenge of the losers (Booksmart), on Rai 3 actress Olivia Wilde’s hilarious directorial debut, described as sort of Very bad or American Pie in femininity. Comedy stars Beanie Feldstein and Caitlin Dever as two high school best friends who are tired of being seen as “nerds” decide to break the rules for at least once in their lives before going to college.
Revenge of the Losers – Cast & Voice Actors
Beanie FeldsteinMolly Davidson
Caitlin DeverAmy Antsler
Jessica Williams: Miss Fine
Lisa Kudrow, Charmaine Antsler
Will ForteDag Antsler
Jason Sudeikis Jordan Brown
Billy LourdGigi
Diana Silvers Hope
Skyler GisondoJared
Noah GalvinGeorge
Original voice actors
Maya Rudolph: motivating voice
Italian dubbers
Eva PadoanMolly Davidson
Veronica PuccioAmy Antsler
Rossella Acerbo as Charmaine Antsler
Massimo Bitossi Doug Antsler
Francesco Prando Jordan Brown
Lucrezia Marricchi – Gigi
Giulia Franceschetti: Hope
Daniele Raffaeli Jared
Stefano BroccolettiGeorge
Revenge of the Losers – Plot and Trailer
What happens if you realize on the eve of graduation that you didn’t enjoy your high school years because you were too busy studying? Here’s what happens to the two protagonists of this hilarious teen comedy, best friends Amy (Kaitlin Dever) and Molly (Bini Feldstein), who decide to combine four years of fun into one unforgettable and crazy night.
Movie Trivia
- Olivia Wilde made a thriller after this debut. Don’t worry dear (2022) starring Florence Pugh and Harry Styles.
- The film was written by Emily Halpern, Sarah Haskins, Suzanne Vogel and Katie Silberman and produced by Adam McKay and Will Ferrell.
- Olivia Wilde encouraged Caitlin Dever and Beanie Feldstein to spend time together to truly build rapport with each other. They ended up being roommates for 10 weeks.
- In an interview, actress Billy Lourd said that in the scene in which her character Gigi dives from the side of the yacht, Lourd was originally ready to perform this trick herself. However, the producers told her that because of the danger, this sequence is usually performed by a professional stuntwoman. When Lourdes was told that one of those dangers was that the water she would dive into was so dirty that she would have to wear a tampon to protect against infection, it helped Lourdes accept the idea of using a stuntwoman. The stunt double they hired for the scene, Heidi Pascoe, was a professional diver.
- Olivia Wilde encouraged her actors to rewrite any of their characters’ dialogue if they felt it was inaccurate.
- Beanie Feldstein first read the script for another role, which was eventually dropped. When Olivia Wilde was approached to direct, she wanted Beanie to play the lead role of Molly.
- Screenwriter Cathy Silberman said that Billie Lourd’s performance was so impressive that additional scenes were written especially for her.
- In the film, Amy is a lesbian and Molly is a straight woman. In real life, the opposite is true: Beanie Feldstein is weird, and Caitlin Dever is straight.
- Olivia Wilde said that Breakfast Club (1985) Wow (1982) Life is a dream (1993) and Girls in Beverly Hills (1995) served as an inspiration for his film.
- Many of the young actors are children and/or relatives of other Hollywood industry stars and professionals. Beanie Feldstein (Molly) is the sister of actor John Hill. Mason Gooding (Nick) is the son of actor Cuba Gooding Jr. Molly Gordon (Annabelle/Triple A) is the daughter of screenwriter Jesse Nelson and television director Brian Gordon. Billie Lourd (Gigi) is the daughter of Officer Brian Lourd and Carrie Fisher.
- In an interview, director Olivia Wilde explained the word “Malala” used by two best friends Amy and Molly as something that only they can understand: “Malala is their code word for unconditional support. So “malala” means that what I’m asking you to do with me now, you must do… Malala (Yousufzai, Nobel Peace Prize winner, known for her commitment to civil rights and the right to education – prohibited by Taliban decree) – one of their wonderful models. And I think that’s why it’s the most important thing in their friendship: the idea is that if you say Malala, you really mean it.”
- Billie Lourd (Gigi) is only three years younger than Jessica Williams (Miss Fine).
- The first draft of the script was written in 2009.
- Many of the themes in this film are reminiscent of (and in some cases female versions of) Superbad (2007). Also, Beanie Feldstein, the protagonist of Booksmart, and Jonah Hill, the protagonist of Superbad, are brothers.
- Olivia Wilde’s boyfriend at the time of filming, Jason Sudeikis, plays the headmaster.
- In Suzanne Vogel’s rewrite of the script, one of the main characters was turned into a lesbian.
- Olivia Wilde received the Opening Director of the Year award at Cinemacon Las Vegas and on the occasion, she said she wants to continue her directing experience and feels very lucky: “I feel like the only thing better than being an actor and seeing yourself on the big screen is to be a director and see on the big screen the work that you are lucky enough to create. I’m honored to be able to see my first hit movie in theaters, it’s something a lot of people dream of, but a lot of directors don’t get the chance, so I just feel like the happiest person in the world.”
- The cast of the film includes four former actors Saturday night lifeCast: Jason Sudeikis, Will Forte, Michael Patrick O’Brien and Maya Rudolph. Will Ferrell, another former SNL member, is one of the film’s executive producers.
- In an interview with Vanity Fair, director Olivia Wilde called the revenge of the losers “a school movie training day”.
- One of Amy’s patches features the symbol of the Mercury Seven astronaut program. It is not clear why he wears this symbol, as he never mentions an interest in space, and all Mercury-7s were male. Costume designers have claimed to have purchased his political patches from thrift stores; they may have mistook it for a feminist symbol given its resemblance to the Venus symbol used by feminists.
- Diana Silvers was invited to audition for the role of Ryan, but turned it down, feeling she was not right for the part. Instead, she asked to audition for the role of Hope, for which she was chosen.
- In the bathroom, Hope tells Amy, “Take no prisoners.” Later, there is a scene where Molly has a huge “Take No Prisoners” text hanging on the wall above her bed.
- Amy is wearing a t-shirt with a picture of Birutė Galdikas, a Canadian anthropologist, climatologist and conservationist, and the world’s leading orangutan expert.
- When the girls are watching a “documentary” in the back of Principal Brown’s car and he plugs in his phone, thinking they need music, he asks, “Is that Cardi B?”. Beanie Feldstein starred in Maroon 5 and Cardi B’s “Girls Like You” video.
- Noah Galvin and Molly Gordon previously worked together in the off-Broadway production of Alice After Heart.
- The students were all born in the mid to late 1990s, so they were in their 20s at the time of the film’s release.
- Delta Air Lines removed several scenes from the film’s onboard version, especially those containing same-sex interactions. After viewers pointed this out to director Olivia Wilde on Twitter, she said she was heartbroken by the censorship as these scenes are an integral part of the main character’s journey. Wilde urged Delta to correct its decision and urged any other airline to do the same for similar films. Shortly thereafter, Delta announced that these scenes would be redone.
Revenge of the Losers – Soundtrack
- The original music for the film was written by the legendary DJ and producer. Dan Automaton alias Daniel M. Nakamura (Gorillaz, Handsome Boy Modeling School, Deltron 3030, Cool Kit, Have a Girlfriend, Crudo).
- The soundtrack includes songs: To whom It May Concern From Sam Spiegel (featuring CeeLo Green, Theophilus London and Alex Ebert), Uninhibited melody From Lyukke Lee, Money AND Attitude From Lakeli47, Can you discover? AND Osaka Circle Line From opening, Throw it down From Dominic Young Unique, Double rum cola From Fairy Boom, I saw footage From Deadly grips, Holy Calamity (Bear Witness II) From DJ Shadow, Prince Paul, Dan the Automator, Conrad O. Johnson Sr. and Gary Rector, Batsheet From Sofia Tukker, We speak Tung language From Cam’ron and Vado, Drop the funk (Rip the roof off the sucker) From Parliament, Let’s drink from happy cups from “La Traviata” by Giuseppe Verdi performed Tokyo Philharmonic Orchestra and Fujiwara Opera Chorus, Click it From Salt N Pepa, To go down From Anderson Paak, What is golden From Jurassic 5, Look at these hoes From Santigold, boys From Lizzo, You must know From Alanis Morissette, High from your love From The kings go ahead, forest fire From SBTRKT with participation. Little Dragon, slip away From perfume genius, Free software From Scapegoat wax, cold war From Caution Clay, coals From Twin Shadow featuring. Rainy Qualley, Oh baby From LCD audio system, Woman From Paradise, Nobody speaks From DJ Shadow featuring. Run for the jewels, Continues From Edward Sharp and magnetic zeros, Like us From Leah Ice.
1. Full Star (4:50)
2. Amy is devastated (6:00 am)
3. Broke a couple of rules (3:21)
4. Molly and Nick Dance (3:16)
5. Handwork/Prom (04:32)
6. Amy Molly Fight (3:41)
7. One night left (3:05)
8. Ryan (1:08)
The Revenge of the Losers soundtrack is available on Amazon.