I can’t help but get agitated when superficial comedies such as The House Bunny rake in over twenty-seven million dollars in a span of two weeks at the box office, while a handful of award-winning, low-budget indie films make it to theaters, but remain under the radar of the movie-going public. Such is the case for American Teen, the latest documentary from Academy Award nominated director, Nanette Burstein.
The film follows four stereotypical, small-town Indiana teens — the jock, the geek, the rebel, and the princess — as they endure the highs and lows of their final year of high school. The premise of the film is nothing novel — we’ve all endured the angst and agony of growing into “our own” at the tail end of our teenage years (and some of us in our twenties still haven’t found “our own” in this big, blurry world) — but the universality of the experience, despite the changing backdrop of the times, makes this film relevant today, yesterday, and tomorrow.
And let’s be honest: Who isn’t intrigued by teenagers these days?
Despite heartbreaking moments when the acne-afflicted, gamer geek gets dissed by the gal of his liking, or maddening moments when the princess needs a rude awakening but instead gets . . . whatever she wants, there are those genuinely amusing moments that any Hollywood script would overlook — such as the time the geek gets dumped, briefly rests his head on a public table, and then comments to his ex on the greasy residue that his face leaves behind when he returns to an upright position. So awkward and yet so real.
There are also those surprisingly profound insights that arise out of the rambling of these kids from time-to-time — such as the time the jock realizes that heroes can only be heroes in the company of others. Or the time the princess realizes that toilet paper is probably not the best way to settle the score with someone. (In her world, this is profound.)
The bottom line: American Teen is nothing new, but it’s still something. Go see for yourself.
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