They persuade their disinterested history teacher Mr. G to serve as the club's required advisor, convincing him that the group promotes female solidarity.

PJ and Josie embrace their reputation as violent delinquents as the club attracts more members, including Brittany and Isabel, with "lessons" in self-defense that consist of the students beating each other up.

Tim warns Josie to end the club, but the members decide to disband before they can be punished for the explosion, and a frustrated PJ lashes out at Hazel.

Despite showing off some of her newly acquired skills, Hazel is badly beaten, as Tim exposes PJ and Josie's lies and their original selfish reasons for founding the club.

Josie seeks advice from her and PJ's childhood babysitter Rhodes, who reveals that Huntington tradition involves killing a Rockbridge football player.

[7] Seligman faced significant difficulties during the processes of pitching, shooting and editing Bottoms, the bulk of which were due to the potentially alienating nature of the film's overtly sexual, lesbian premise.

Sennott described the film as, "Two girls in a classic American football town who start a fight club under the guise of female empowerment, but it's actually so they can have sex with cheerleaders.

"[11] In April 2022, it was announced that Ayo Edebiri, Marshawn Lynch, Ruby Cruz, Havana Rose Liu, Kaia Gerber, Nicholas Galitzine, Miles Fowler, Dagmara Domińczyk and Punkie Johnson were added to the cast.

[14] Seligman has said that she cast Marshawn Lynch at the suggestion of Mayo, who pointed her to his appearance on the Netflix series Murderville, the majority of which he had improvised.

[15] Seligman also thought that having a "legendary football player" portraying an advisor to queer girls in the film is good representation for "that kind of straight, male character".

In addition, the film features songs such as "Complicated" by Avril Lavigne, "Pain" by King Princess, "Total Eclipse of the Heart" by Bonnie Tyler, and "Party 4 U" by Charli XCX.

The website's consensus reads: "Propulsive and over-the-top, Bottoms is an instant high school comedy classic that feels both current and nostalgic.

[31] Reviewing the film for Variety, following its premiere at South by Southwest, Owen Gleiberman commended the direction and screenplay (particularly its characters and humor), stating: "Bottoms is unlike any high-school comedy you've ever seen.

"[32] Valerie Complex of Deadline Hollywood admired the lead performances and Seligman's direction, but found some faults with the screenplay, ultimately concluding: "Bottoms is fun, but with some slight tweaks this could have been an epic exploration of the gray areas of queerness and what it means to stand in the center of that as an adolescent.