Jeff!
The Big Picture
- Nicholas Galitzine is absurd and hilarious as Jeff in
Bottoms
, showcasing physical comedy skills. -
Bottoms
is a big departure from his recent roles in
The Idea of You
and
Red, White & Royal Blue
. - Galitzine’s bonkers and over-the-top performance exactly matches
Bottoms
‘ wacky tone.
Nicholas Galitzine is a heartthrob and movie star on the rise, charming his way into our hearts with his roles in romantic comedies like Red, White & Royal Blue, and The Idea of You, opposite Anne Hathaway. Clearly, Galitzine and romance novel adaptations are a winning combination, with both films breaking Prime Video records and The Idea of You racking up 50 million views in just two weeks.
It was delightful news when it was announced that he would return with Taylor Zakhar Perez for the Red, White & Royal Blue sequel. The success of Red, White & Royal Blue seems to have overshadowed his hilarious supporting role in the satirical and downright absurd teen comedy Bottoms starring Ayo Edebiri and Rachel Sennott that also came out that same summer. In Bottoms, Galitzine ditches the charm and sensitivity he brings to his romantic roles, and insteadgets a chance to show off his comedic timing and knack for physical comedy in his bonkers performance as football jock Jeff.
Bottoms
Two unpopular queer high-school students start a fight club to have sex before graduation.
- Release Date
- August 25, 2023
- Director
- Emma Seligman
- Cast
- Nicholas Galitzine , Ayo Edebiri , Dagmara Dominczyk , Rachel Sennott
- Runtime
- 92 minutes
Nicholas Galitzine Embraces the Absurdity and Chaos of ‘Bottoms’
Starring fellow rising stars Ayo Edebiri and Rachel Sennott, Bottoms follows two lesbian best friends, Josie (Edebiri) and PJ (Sennott) who start a fight club at school in an attempt to hook up with cheerleaders, namely Isabel (Havana Rose Liu) and Brittany (Kaia Gerber). As Josie pursues Isabel, she encounters one major obstacle: her idiot boyfriend, Jeff (Galitzine). Jeff is your typical dumb jock exaggerated to a ridiculous extreme, resulting in a character that resembles an overgrown toddler raised on a steady diet of toxic masculinity. Despite his limited screen time, Galitzine’s off-the-wall performance is one of the most entertaining in the film, making Jeff the perfect antagonist for this irreverent high school comedy.
Throughout his career, Galitzine has played a number of dreamy love interests, including multiple princes and, most recently, the lead singer of a One Direction-esque boy band in The Idea of You. He’s proven, in Hathaway’s words, that “[he] could have chemistry with a lamp.” But his performance in Bottoms doesn’t hinge on his chemistry with anyone, though he plays well off of both Liu and Miles Fowler, the latter of whom plays Jeff’s best friend, Tim. Jeff has a major case of main character syndrome, worshiped by the school at large by virtue of being the star football player, despite constantly cheating on Isabel and generally being a menace to society. His behavior is akin to Ryan Gosling‘s Ken after he discovers the patriarchy, but even with Jeff’s blatant misogyny, Galitzine brings a silliness to the role that keeps the character from feeling too realistic or threatening in any real way, leaning into the film’s absurd sense of humor, particularly through sharp physical comedy.
Nicholas Galitzine Nails Physical Comedy in ‘Bottoms’
Bottoms allows Galitzine to show off his comedic abilities in a way his romantic roles do not, and while his line delivery is consistently funny, it’s his physical comedy that stands out the most. The first time we see Jeff and Isabel fighting at the carnival, he follows her around the parking lot, begging his “teeny tiny baby girl” to not be mad at him for flirting with other women in front of her. When Josie and PJ offer Isabel a ride to help her get away from Jeff, he stands in front of Josie’s car demanding she get out, going back and forth between childlike whining and genuine annoyance that Isabel won’t obey him. Isabel and PJ pressure Josie to start driving, believing Jeff will be forced to move out of the way, but when she tentatively steps on the gas, the car slightly lurches forward, causing the bumper to barely graze Jeff’s knee. Jeff reacts to this collision (if you can even call it that) as though he’s just been shot, falling backwards in horror as his football bros rush over to comfort him. The following day, Jeff makes a spectacle of hobbling into class on crutches as though he’s suffered a life-altering injury and threatens to get his revenge on Josie.
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.”
Bottoms is loaded with visual gags, like the explicit doodles on Mr. G’s (Marshawn Lynch) chalkboard and the Rock Bridge High School mascot with a human penis. Galitzine’s physical comedy in his performance as Jeff is so effective that he manages to stand out even when his character isn’t the focal point of a scene, like when he’s relegated to the background or simply part of a montage. In one scene where Tim is on the phone investigating Josie and PJ’s alleged stint in juvie, Jeff can be spotted on the football field in the background, easily running through and knocking over five of his teammates as though they’re human sized bowling pins, and then spiking the ball with a celebratory exclamation of “Jeff!” After Isabel breaks up with Jeff and vows to get her revenge, she enlists the other members of the fight club to help her vandalize his house. As they pelt his comically large house with eggs and toilet paper rolls, Jeff dramatically dances around his room to Bonnie Tyler’s “Total Eclipse of the Heart” wearing a bathrobe and headphones, oblivious to what’s going on right outside his window. When Hazel (Ruby Cruz) takes things a bit too far and blows up Jeff’s car, he finally turns around and lets out a high-pitched scream straight out of a bad horror movie.
Jeff’s character is used sparingly but to great effect, and Galitzine takes advantage of every moment he’s on-screen, whether he’s telling the lunch lady to “eat a bag of dicks,” silently apologizing to Isabel by offering her a bouquet of dead flowers, or showing off his hip thrusting dance moves before the big game. Even his resting facial expression is one that suggests there’s nothing but tumbleweeds ratting around inside his head. Galitzine’s performance as Jeff is totally unique from his romantic roles, and what’s most endearing about it is how much fun he’s clearly having with the part. While Galitzine’s roles in Red, White & Royal Blue and The Idea of You might leave you crushing on this new Hollywood heartthrob, be sure to eat up his performance as a malicious himbo in Bottoms.
Bottoms is available to watch on Prime Video in the U.S.
WATCH ON PRIME VIDEO
This article was originally published on collider.com