Booksmart Star Kaitlyn Dever on What Makes the Movie So Funny, the Euphoria of Crushes, and Awkward Sex Scenes

School is almost out, and soon Booksmart will be in theaters. Leading up to the comedy’s May 24 release, Teen Vogue has an exclusive first look at some photos from the film, paired with interviews with the movie’s stars. (Mild spoilers ahead.)

When Booksmart stars Kaitlyn Dever and Beanie Feldstein moved in together during the film's shooting, Kaitlyn gifted her castmate vegan cookies. But as with many roommates, the good intentions went awry after she ended up eating the goodies herself in the middle of the night. Isn’t that typical best friend behavior, anyway?

“Beanie and I were cast as Molly and Amy, and we hadn’t even met yet, and our first meeting was with Olivia [Wilde],” she tells Teen Vogue. “Olivia said we hugged for about 45 minutes. It was just pretty instantaneous, our bond.”

That connection is clear onscreen with all the antics, banter, and ridiculousness that Molly and Amy find themselves in throughout the Olivia Wilde–directed Booksmart. The film follows the BFFs, who spent their high school careers forgoing partying for studying in order to get into elite universities. But when they find out that all the party kids also got into good schools, Molly convinces Kaitlyn’s Amy to join her in making up for lost time by crashing the cool kids’ end-of-year bash.

Kaitlyn, who was born in Phoenix and later relocated to Los Angeles, has a slew of other roles that audiences might recognize her from. Her first major gig was as Gwen Thompson in the American Girl film An American Girl: Chrissa Stands Strong. She’s also popped up in such movies as The Spectacular Now and Bad Teacher. But most people probably know her from a multi-episode stint on Justified or her main role as Eve Baxter on the ABC sitcom Last Man Standing, which she’s been on since 2011. Kaitlyn was particularly excited to join Booksmart as Amy, since someone was allowing her “to be funny and in a leading role.”

Together, Molly and Amy are quite the duo, practically attached to the hip and sharing almost every secret (including the use of a panda plushie as a masturbation helper). Between the two girls, Amy is the more reserved one, the one who often lets Molly take the reins in the friendship. Kaitlyn’s character is also queer and still a bit shy about making moves on crushes, including a skater chick named Ryan. Amy’s quieter personality balances out with Molly’s type-A tendencies, especially when it comes to finding themselves in situations like getting into an Uber driven by their principal and accidentally doing a hallucinogen given to them by Billie Lourd’s Gigi. It’s in trying to navigate these moments that Kaitlyn shows off her comedic chops.

“The key to this movie, it’s something that I talked to Olivia about in the early stages, is that we were never trying to land a joke. We were never trying to make it funny,” Kaitlyn says. “What’s funny about these two girls and their relationship is their intelligence and their banter between one another and the references that they have so quickly at the top of their head.”

Amy also has one of the most beautiful scenes in the movie, after finally mustering up the courage to talk to Ryan at the party. After some conversation, they head on over to the pool for some swimming shenanigans. The camera follows Kaitlyn as she glides underwater, with Sufjan Stevens playing in the background.

“The first time I saw the scene in the movie, I had this feeling of, Gosh, that is exactly what it feels like to have a huge crush on someone and to finally be making that first big move that you’ve never made before, feeling anxious and excited all at the same time,” she says. “[Olivia] really just nailed that feeling so well in that scene.”

Unfortunately for Amy, things go a bit south when she emerges from the water and sees Ryan making out with a guy. She frantically searches for refuge somewhere in the party, ending up in a bathroom with Diana Silvers’s Hope. And while things with Ryan didn’t work out, the spark of attraction between Amy and Diana is kindled with a heated, teasing exchange between the two young women, and the two of them end up hooking up.

It’s a reminder to audiences, and especially to queer audiences, that your first intimate moment isn’t necessarily going to be with the person you initially thought it would be with. Kaitlyn explains that Olivia made sure both young actors felt incredibly comfortable and safe while filming the scene, ensuring that it would be a closed set, with just her and the director of photography. All parties involved also wanted to be sure that the scene felt as genuine as possible, including all the awkwardness of a first time.

“Your first hookup moment is always going to be awkward. You don’t know what you’re doing, when the pants come off they’re actually really hard to get off and everything’s not super-seamless,” she says. “Olivia wanted to make sure we got all of that in, like me untying Hope’s Converse, just really making it as honest to real life as possible.”

Amy’s journey of self-discovery when it comes to her sexuality is just part of her general growth in Booksmart. Like most best friends, Molly and Amy find themselves in a major fight before the close of the film. We won’t spoil the specifics, but it’s very much symptomatic of young adulthood when you come to terms that you can’t always do everything with your best bud.

“I think everyone’s had to go through that heartbreak in some sort of way,” Kaitlyn says. “But people should take away that that’s okay, and that those relationships are really beautiful when you have them. You can rebuild the relationship or you make new friends with new people, but those relationships are what shape you as a person.”

As for what’s next, Kaitlyn shares that there’s been lots of chatter among the cast about a potential Booksmarter. A sequel is only a possibility at this moment, but if it does happen, Kaitlyn envisions a possible fast-forward in which Molly and Amy are living in New York together. It’s unclear who will be the one to bring the vegan cookies.

Related: Billie Lourd’s Booksmart Character Is a Fashionable Oddball Who’d Probably Kill Chanel No. 3

Originally Appeared on Teen Vogue