Broken noses and bloodshed mark this refreshingly disjointed teen comedy

Here's a brutal truth: we've all done something stupid in the name of love. And therein lies universal beauty amid the broken noses and spilled blood of “Bottoms.”

The gonzo coming-of-age mayhem of “Animal House” and “Revenge of the Nerds” meets the moment with director Emma Seligman's two-fisted teen comedy (★★★½ out of four; rated R ; in select theaters now, Friday nationwide). Spiritually closer to John Belushi's Bluto than to the girls from “Booksmart,” Rachel Sennott and Ayo Edebiri play queer best friends who start a high school fight club for all the wrong reasons and end up making a difference in people's lives in a way that is more accidental than deliberate.

Josie (Edebiri) and PJ (Sennott) are social outcasts entering their senior year at Rockbridge Falls and are a pile of putty when talking with their favorite cheerleaders, Isabel (Havana Rose Liu) and Brittany ( Kaia Gerber, the spitting image of mom Cindy Crawford). A chance encounter with their dream girlfriends at a carnival leads Josie to drive her car way too close to the knees of hero quarterback Jeff (a delightfully whiny Nicholas Galitzine), further diminishing their cool status.

With absolutely nothing to lose, and their classmates thinking they're a couple of underage-trained thugs anyway, Josie and PJ start a fight club to teach girls self-defense tactics, because people from their rival Huntington High are destined to turn violent, which will lead them to the next homecoming football game. Their friend Hazel (Ruby Cruz) sees the club as a way to improve the school's female solidarity, while Josie and PJ simply want to get closer to Isabel and Brittany's students.

With the help of eccentric history teacher Mr. G (ex-NFL star Marshawn Lynch), the fight club goes from an awkward and heartbreaking first meeting to a full-blown phenomenon that draws attention away from Jeff and his football friends. It won't be enough, and friction escalates as a little light-hearted anarchy and an epic rally brawl carve a pleasantly demented path to a disjointed finale.

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Any sort of raunchy teen sex comedy needs to walk a fine line without being derivative — especially gender-flipping the “boys lose their virginity” trope. The fight club aspect helps (and David Fincher's film of the same name gets some nice recognition), but the welcome freshness comes mainly from Seligman's inventive script (Mr. G's blackboard is home to some of the best gags), a love for bizarre situations (“Total Eclipse of the Heart” falls perfectly into the most explosive scene of the film) and the exceptional chemistry between Edebiri and Sennott. After impressive turns in Seligman's “Bodies, Bodies, Bodies” and “Shiva Baby,” Sennott is an abrasive force of nature and Edebiri is building on his incredible 2023, which has included roles in “The Bear” and ” Theater Camp.”

Josie and PJ bring together a fun mix of diverse personalities for their group, all of whom come to them with trauma and problems, and the two antiheroines lie and manipulate while throwing haymakers. “Bottoms” explores and sometimes even touches on feminism, sexuality and toxic masculinity, but never becomes maudlin. While lessons are learned, feelings are felt, and heady thoughts are discussed, the film tends to rely gloriously on the dark joke or hyperviolent moment rather than any sort of “message.”

Add in a plethora of memorable lines ripe for repeating with friends and a movie-stealing turn from Lynch, and “Bottoms” is the kind of satisfyingly satisfying cult treat that can totally beat your favorite teen classic.

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This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: 'Bottoms' Review: Hilarious Teen Sex Comedy Packs 'Animal House' Punch