Let me tell you a little bit about my thought process in going to see American Teen. I like indy flicks. I tend to be drawn to them like a moth to a flame. I have no real problem with documentaries. In fact, the best thing I've seen all year is Chris Bell's Bigger, Stronger Faster. I was in the right frame of mind for this movie and it just didn't deliver.
Like most movies I've seen since I started keeping this blog, it wasn't awful. It just left a lot to be desired. As far as mediocre movies go, it's a good mediocre movie...is that possible?
The producers picked four teens from Warsaw, Indiana to follow during their senior year at high school.
Colin (the jock),
Jake (the geek),
Megan (the popular girl/bitch)
and Hannah (the artsy girl/outcast/tortured soul).
The film's press materials claim it also follows Mitch (the hunk),
but the filmmakers are only interested in him because of his relationship with Hannah.
I know, from the outset this seems unbearable for anyone over 18. I really should have known what I was getting into. I HATE The Breakfast Club.
Turns out two of the teens' stories are really interesting. The other two are really what bring down the movie. Colin is the star of his high school basketball team. His dad was the star of the team when he was in high school. Now he's an Elvis impersonator. The pressure Colin and his father put on him to get a scholarship is really something that could leave you scratching your head. It turns him into a selfish player on the court and kind of a jerk off it. I was routing for Colin. His story really seemed the most authentic.
Hannah is the character I think most people are going to relate to. She doesn't like school, her parents, or her hometown. We see her get her heartbroken not once, but twice. It is almost like director Nanette Burstein went out of her way to make sure we like Hannah, and she succeeds. I saw a little bit of myself in her and I was honestly hoping to find out she got as far from Warsaw, Indiana as possible.
Jake is a geek that can't get a girl AND THAT'S ALL HE EVER TALKS ABOUT and that's boring. Megan is a bitch - plain and simple. She spends her time toilet papering people's yards because they didn't vote for the prom theme she wanted, running off any girls that are interested in her friend Geoff, and treating people like garbage that by the time you find out she had a sister that committed suicide you just don't care.
The movie felt scripted. I know Burstein has been dealing with these accusations ever since the movie was released, and believe me, I don't want to pile on. Too much just seems to happen at the most convenient times - Colin hits a game winning shot, Jake screws up a date with a girl that really likes him, the outcast and the hunk get together. It's shouldn't be hard to take the movie at face value, but it is easy to wonder if what you're seeing is legit.
One thing I loved about the movie was the use of animation. It was a creative way to introduce back stories and feelings that you couldn't put on film otherwise. And the filmmakers were so creative with the animation itself. Colin's animations look like notebook doodles. Jake's look like they came straight out of a video game. Hannah's look like a Tim Burton film. It helps hammer home feelings and background info that someone looking into a camera and crying could not.
There is a lot to like about American Teen. It's just that there is also a lot that will leave you wondering why you're waisting your time. What I walked away with is that kids in high school (for the most part) are douche bags in one way or another...and I didn't need a 95 minute movie to figure that out.
The Greek gives it a B.
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