Terri (2011)

Mr. Fitzgerald: I screw up all the time. Because that's what people do."We've all been there."Terri is a fresh little indie dramedy that features two outstanding performances from Jacob Wysocki and John C. Reilly.  Jacob Wysocki plays the title role and it's his first feature performance ever. He's really good, but I don't think he's ever going to break the typecasting. I see he's already lined up for a film called Fat Kid Rules the World. John C. Reilly is at his best in movies like this. It seems like he's getting back to doing more and more indie stuff, and I love it. 2010 had Cyrus, this year he starred in Cedar Rapids and Terri. It should come as no surprise that this movie isn't very plot heavy. It is a character study and a pretty damn good one at that. Terri is an overweight teen, who lives with his uncle. He doesn't know where his mom is and he doesn't know where his dad is. Being as overweight as he is; he's obviously going to get made fun of. The fact that he only wears pajamas just makes matters worse. He is able to forge a friendship with the vice principal of his high school though. The two help each other out.Terri is one of those movies that is classified as a comedy, even though it is never laugh out loud hilarious. It has some funny moments, but it never creates laughs just because. It worries more about the characters, most notably Terri. In another movie Terri may have been exploited for laughs, which would have been easy. A three hundred pound teen wearing pajamas could be funny. But in this movie we don't laugh because we get to know him and we feel for him. Even though I have very little in common with Terri, I found myself trying to relate to his situations. Terri isn't going to excite you. It is slow paced and nothing much happens. Many people just can't handle movies like this and I don't particularly blame them. I can see how movies of this type could come of as pointless and just a waste of time, but I love these types of movies. I love Terri not only because it's different, but because it's realistic and easy to relate to. Fans of coming of age movies, indie movies, and patient storytelling should rejoice in Terri. But if you're looking for a comedy that will make you laugh endlessly, you may want to look elsewhere.