Director: Olivia Wilde

High school seniors Molly (Beanie Feldstein, just announced as a Golden Globe nominee) and Amy (“Last Man Standing”’s Kaitlyn Dever) have spent the last four years doing all the right things: working hard, studying hard, eschewing a social life. And their sacrifices have paid off. Molly is headed to Yale, and Amy to Columbia. On the last day of school, however, they find out that all the popular, partying kids they thought were headed towards a life of adequate mediocrity (is that redundant?) are actually headed for top 10 schools or great jobs. Even Molly’s rival—the class tramp (Molly Gordon, also great in Good Boys this year!)—will be attending Yale with her. “I’m incredible at hand jobs,” she says, “but I also got a 1560 on the SATs.” Molly begins to wonder if they’ve missed out on four years of fun and decides that there’s only one thing for the two to do—try to cram four years of partying into one night!

Like all of the “one-night comedies,” the events are incredibly unlikely, but it doesn’t matter because it feels fresh and fun and the actors sell it perfectly. Yes, there’s sex, drugs, and rock n’ roll, but the film also has heart. It downshifts from raunchy, over the top bits to bittersweet and poignant moments effortlessly. The dialogue is quirky and very funny—if a little artificial—and both leads are excellent, with dead-on comic timing. It doesn’t hurt that they’re surrounded by a great supporting cast. Skyler Gisondo is sympathetic as Jared, the weird rich kid who tries to buy friends, and Billie Lourd is even better as his over-the-top, drug-addled sister, Gigi—whose performance, although it’s short, could be my favorite surreal performance of the year. Appearances by Jason Sudekis (Wilde’s real-life hubby) as the principal, Will Forte and Lisa Kudrow as Amy’s parents, and even Maya Rudolph as voice-only motivational speaker are fine, but whatever you do, don’t miss Mike O’Brien’s turn as a pizza delivery driver.

It’s hard to believe that this is Olivia Wilde’s directorial debut, as it feels pretty flawless, even when it goes off book into, say, a classic Hollywood dance number, or a very funny stop-motion sequence with Barbi-type dolls. It’s stylized, but not so much that it detracts from the substance. The soundtrack works well, too, although once or twice I found it a little intrusive. Overall, I’m really sorry it took me so long to get to this film.

IMDb smartly lists this film at a 7.2. I’m going to go even higher and give it an 8.0. This is the most fun I’ve had with a movie this year, honestly. I love this film and I’m going to watch it again right now! (running time 1:42)