AMERICAN TEEN (2008)

- [PG -13] for some strong language, sexual material, som drinking and brief smoking -all involving teens.

- Directed by = Nanette Burstein

- Running Time = 1hr 41min

This documentary about teen angst is being marketed as a non-fiction BREAKFAST CLUB. I think that's unfair, because I didn't find the movie gimmicky at all.

Filmmaker Nanette Burstein follows 4 kids from different circles for an entire school year in Warsaw, Indiana. First we have Hannah. She's a artistic, unique free-spirit. She doesn't like to conform and just does her own thing while she figures out how she is going to go to film school. Megan is the polar opposite. She's a prom queen, very active in school activities and very material. She has to get into Norte Dame or she will just die. Colin is the basketball jock with no personality. He just flows with the mainstream while being pressured by his father to get a sports scholarship. Jake, the acme-faced band geek, is invisible to the average student. He just wants to be liked and fall in love. The movie intertwines these four storylines.

The opening credits reminded me of THE REAL WORLD, so I was hoping it wasn't going to be like that. At first, the movie had a real staged kind of feel, but I think that had to do with the kids being uncomfortable in front of the camera. After about ten minutes, everything seemed natural. Being a geek in school, I did identify with Jake. But he seems to be clueless to just how nerdy he is. I never had the confidence to go up to a girl and ask her out with such persistancy as he does, though. His problem is once he is out with them, he doesn't know how to act, always talking in monotone. When he meets someone who might like him, you just want it to turn out good for him, but he just seems doomed for failure. You can't help but want to punch the girl that cheats on him.

Megan is just such a bitch. When her best friend that's a guy messes around with another girl, she finds a naked pic of her and sends it to everyone in her school. But then she cries when she might not make it into Notre Dame. I really wanted to hate her, but it turns out that she's not so one dimensional. We find out about a family tragedy that has really effected her. Colin's storyline is probably the least interesting. He's just boring, which is like a normal jock I suppose. It was disturbing to see just how much pressure his dad has on him to not screw up during a big game. That pretty much confirms my dislike for all sports, cause of F***faces like that.

The real heart of the movie is Hannah. Easily a girl I probably would've had a crush on in school. She's so independent and full of life. But screwed up. Her parents tell her she's not special, her boyfriend leaves her, and she doesn't want to go to school ever again. Once she pulls herself together she meets Mitch, a jock who finds Hannah to be a breath of fresh air. At first they are great for each other, but Mitch's social circle just doesn't accept this and Mitch doesn't deal with that kind of pressure so well.

All of these storylines are more compelling than any Teen movie. I think this is the most realistic look at High School ever captured on film so far. It's just like life. Good times, bad times, but everything looks hopeful in the future depending on how you look at things. Every teen should see this movie. I think it needs to be shown in every High School. In order to do this, the filmmakers really tried to make this PG13. There are two F-Words, cause that's about how many you can say in a PG13 movie. But when they say more F-words after that, they bleep them. For me that was a little distracting. I think the movie should have been more raw like real life. Instead it feels like a reality TV series when it's bleeped like that. That's my one big complaint.

After seeing lots of Hollywood teen comedy/dramas that just can't capture what High School is really like, along comes this involving and truthful Documentary to bring us back to reality.

3.5/4