Shiva Babywriter-directorEmma Seligman’s follow-up featureBottoms, now available on Prime Video, was a groundbreaking hit for many reasons. The raunchy teen comedy followsRachel SennottandAyo Edebiri’s PJ and Josie, two lesbian high schoolers at the “bottom” of the social hierarchy who desperately want to have sex, particularly with cheerleaders Isabel (Havana Rose Liu) and Brittany (Kaia Gerber). They decide to start a high school fight club in an attempt to get closer to girls and hopefully get some romantic action along the way.
One of the most determinedly iconoclastic choices was the casting of football playerMarshawn Lynch, the all-star running back who won a Super Bowl with the Seattle Seahawks, as history teacher Mr. G. But this is more than just stunt casting. Lynch has one of the most important roles in the film, and though the part wasn’t written for him, it was reshaped to suit whatever he chose to bring as a performer. Lynch takes his work here seriously, both as an artist and as a person with a deeply personal connection to the material.
Two unpopular queer high-school students start a fight club to have sex before graduation.
Marshawn Lynch’s Mr. G Saves the Day in ‘Bottoms’
Bottomstakes placein a funhouse mirror reflection of our own reality. “Funhouse” is the only word you can really use because, depending on the scene, the film is warped along different axes. Sometimes,theBottomsreality appears dystopian, as random horrifying announcements over the PA indicate that reading is banned for the school year. But other times, it’s utopian. At PJ and Josie’s high school, we are frequently reminded that homophobia doesn’t exist, and the only reason the two of them are unpopular is that they’re “ugly” and “untalented.“The reality in this movie isn’t governed by any rules, and the only real constant is our protagonists' horniness.
Marshawn Lynch Takes His Role in ‘Bottoms’ Very Seriously
Before ‘Bottoms,’ Ayo Edebiri and Rachel Sennott Starred in This Short-Lived Comedy Central Series
“I have no flaws and neither do you, and that’s what feminism is.”
It isn’t that unexpected that Lynch is pursuing an acting career now that he’s retired from sports. But it’s somewhat of a shock how little his first major role has to do with the persona he projected as a player.As Josie and PJ’s history teacher, he has mostly given up. But, after being recruited to oversee their fight training class, he turns out to be as close as this movie comes to a responsible adult and is disappointed to discover that the entire project is just a scheme to meet girls. Yet, this description doesn’t quite capture Mr. G as a character either, because, really,Bottomsis beyond the idea of straightforward characters. It’s a big silly comedy, and creating characters that make sense isn’t a big part of the plan.
Before ‘Bottoms,’ Emma Seligman Didn’t Know Who Marshawn Lynch Was
Aside from being a hilariously perfect fit forBottoms, Marshawn Lynch actually had a personal connection to the film.His sister came out to himwhen he was 16, and he still has regrets over the way he responded. Playing Mr. G, the mentor to two lesbian teenagers, he said felt like a way to “rewrite one of my mistakes.” Later, Seligman and Lynch’s sister,Marreesha Sapp-Lynch, were able to elaborate on how much the role meant to Lynch as a way to feel closer to his sister. Seligman has told some great stories about working with Lynch, painting a picture of a performer dedicated to his craft.
Seligman didn’t know who he wasbefore he was suggested to her during casting, and in part she chose him as a way of catching audiences off guard:
“It took a few conversations for him to feel comfortable. In our first conversation, he told me that his sister is queer and when they were in high school, he didn’t necessarily handle it super well. He felt like this movie coming into his hands was the universe giving him a chance to right his wrongs.”
After Lynch was brought on, he was expected to improvise much of his character (as he memorably did on Netflix’s improv-detective-comedyMurderville). This doesn’t seem to be what Lynch himself anticipated or hoped for, instead expecting to be directed with a firmer hand by a director who knew what she wanted from the character. But Seligman was after something more spontaneous. That’s how the movie ended up containing a reference to “42 Fake,” aMac Dresong that Seligman had never heard of. After the climactic brawl, every character inBottomsends up personally and romantically where they were meant to be. Rachel Sennott’s unfiltered PJ andAyo Edebiri’s mild-mannered Josieare perfect as two horny queer teens, butcasting NFL superstar Marshawn Lynchas the simultaneously aloof and self-aware history teacher Mr. G proved to be not only a surprising choice, but one with a lot of heart behind it, too.
Bottomsis available to watch on Prime Video in the U.S.
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