American Teen

[MacGuffin]

Trailer here.

Release Date: July 25th, 2008 (limited)

Directed by: Nanette Burstein 

Premise: Documentary following the lives of four teenagers--a jock, the popular girl, the artsy girl and the geek--in one small town in Indiana through their senior year of high school.

[Stefen]

Check out the rack on the Blonde!

ahem. this looks good. I was wondering what she was up to since kid stays in the picture.

[modage]

i loved this!  saw it yesterday.  ignore the breakfast club stuff, this movies got more suspense than Dark Knight!  i got teary eyed at the end.  and i love Hannah Bailey (not in a creepy way).

[Reinhold]

it's a forgettable film, but i didn't hate it.

as you probably expect, though, there's plenty in the film to hate about a few of the people featured-- because they're actual high school students. the presence of the camera crew is clearly partly responsible for some of what goes on in the film in terms of the more dramatic moments, but in general i didn't find it horribly far off from what went on at my high school (perhaps because this was filmed at another midwestern school of about the same size as mine, the year after i graduated).

i had a great time at the film, though. walrus, his girlfriend, and myself had the theater to ourselves-- in that sense it really was like being back at high school.

fittingly, getting back to our apartment from the film, Walrus noticed that a guy on the train had been eyeing him for a few stops...

me: where in michigan did you say you were from?
him: i went to high school with you.
me: oh. sorry.

minor SPOILER
also, it turns out that hannah bailey from the film now attends my college, which is not "in" New York City as she claims. given the disgusting amount of pepsi product placement, i have to wonder if Pepsi (which has a very strong relationship with Purchase because it's across the street and owns our performing arts center, etc) helped her with her decision to be "more of an east coast girl".

[MacGuffin]

*MINOR SPOILERS*

and i love Hannah Bailey (not in a creepy way).

I so love her too. Those guys will realize what idiots they are and will look to find another Hannah in their adult lives because she was the one that got away. I was like a proud brother when she knew so much more about herself than her parents did and claimed "her" life, not theirs.

Megan was just a Bitch, plain and simple, and the fact that she didn't get along with her 'slow' sister says SO much about her and the way she looks down at others. I hope she is toliet-papered wherever she goes.

Overall the film was alright; I didn't feel any suspense, and could have done without the animations that tended to undermine the poignancy of what that student was saying. The doc made you appreciate how much John Hughes knew about high schoolers because some scenes played out like some of his films (Some Kind Of Wonderful; Pretty In Pink...) and it just proved my theory that life does continue to be like high school even after you've graduated (I was and am so like Jake).

[Weird. Oh]

*MINOR SPOILERS*

and i love Hannah Bailey (not in a creepy way).

I so love her too. Those guys will realize what idiots they are and will look to find another Hannah in their adult lives because she was the one that got away. I was like a proud brother when she knew so much more about herself than her parents did and claimed "her" life, not theirs.

Megan was just a Bitch, plain and simple, and the fact that she didn't get along with her 'slow' sister says SO much about her and the way she looks down at others. I hope she is toliet-papered wherever she goes.

Overall the film was alright; I didn't feel any suspense, and could have done without the animations that tended to undermine the poignancy of what that student was saying. The doc made you appreciate how much John Hughes knew about high schoolers because some scenes played out like some of his films (Some Kind Of Wonderful; Pretty In Pink...) and it just proved my theory that life does continue to be like high school even after you've graduated (I was and am so like Jake).

Oddly enough, I just watched this film too based upon some buzz I've read about it. I was rather underwhelmed in many ways. The film was way too tangential and asynchronous for me. Instead of letting scenes play out naturally, the director jumps all over. The break up text with Hannah, she doesn't document her reaction but instead a cliche scene of her contemplating life at a much later point. It also bothered me how superficial it all seemed. I'm not that far removed from high school (I'm 23) and I don't recall it being remotely close to as stereotypical as the way it was portrayed. I hated pretty much all the characters involved save Hannah because she represents the type of girl I dig. Even so, she was the stereotypical Artsy, misfit that gets in with the jock but can't exist because of some perceived caste system of superiority. This film was just a disappointment and I think it's length detracts from some of the details that could have played out.