Review: American Teen

Documentary focusing on a small group of American teens in their final year of high school, offering several unique perspectives on American high school life, albeit white, Middle-American views. There’s Jake, the pimple-faced nerdy gamer and band geek who so much wants a girlfriend. On the opposite end we have uber-bitch Megan, a high-achiever with a nasty streak and some family secrets. In between we have Colin, who is a Basketballer with a lot of parental pressure on him, and artistically-inclined and neurotic Hannah, who wants to get the hell out of Warsaw, Indiana.

Although some of the footage filmmaker Nanette Burstein captures is a tad suspiciously convenient for something labelled a documentary, there can be no doubt that this 2008 film is compelling, and occasionally shocking stuff. Yes, it’s a bit of a stretch to believe that ‘popular girl’ Megan would allow herself to be filmed vandalising someone’s house, but the fact is, Megan’s still an uber-bitch and she’s shows her true colours often enough that Burstein’s occasional tricksiness (Re-enactments most likely at times) don’t matter so much. Also, it’s not like Burstein doesn’t include some sympathetic elements to Megan’s story, either. She’s clearly a troubled girl with a very unhappy past (and a somewhat cold, demanding- but loving- father), and whilst I absolutely hated her behaviour in the film, I felt, thanks to Burstein, that I at least understood her. And that’s the main thing this film did for me. I had a pretty unhappy high school experience at times. It wasn’t nearly as horrible as many other people’s, but I felt pretty miserable about myself, fellow teenagers, and especially the school system that seems to create a hierarchical structure that makes life hell for anyone not at the top of that structure, whether it’s teasing, violence, or in my case, total ostracising. But here was a film that, whilst it might be an obvious thing for some, managed to get me to think about the problems that those in social groups other than my own had. The popular kids in school had problems, too.

This film is truly like “The Breakfast Club” meets “The Real World” (the MTV scripted-reality show), in that it gives us an insight into a member of each kind of social group so that we better understand them. Like the John Hughes film there’s the jock, the geek, the princess, and the misfit, but I didn’t see a Judd Nelson ‘rebel’ anywhere. And there’s someone here for just about everyone to latch on to. I myself found aspects of Hannah and Jake to relate to, even if the latter a little creepy at times. Dude, don’t rub your greasy face on a table and then point it out to your date! The dude’s a bit “Napoleon Dynamite” at times with the negativity too. Hannah, the poor girl, not only clearly has anxiety problems (as well as a mother who even more clearly suffers the same problem), but she suffers a most horrible fate (unspoiled by me) not once, but twice, the latter by a text message from the film’s ‘heartthrob’ Mitch (who is supposed to be the fifth main character, but he’s got zero personality). You will feel her pain, and you can’t help but gravitate towards the opinionated teen, the film’s liveliest and most interesting ‘character’. Heck, seeing her on stage with her guitar, I gotta say she looked like a bit of a star to me. Yes, it’s obvious the filmmakers favour her a bit too much, but she’s the most interesting character, so I didn’t mind. Band geek Jake earned my sympathy when his happiness with a new found love Lorrin is cut short when the latter decides to move on. It’s clear throughout that Lorrin is not entirely into Jake, and in fact their story almost plays out like a real version of the situation in “Lucas”, except Kerri Green wasn’t anywhere near as cruel. Unlike the situation with Megan, it’s not hard to accept Lorrin doing what she does (again, unspecified here so as not to spoil things) on camera, because Lorrin always seems to enjoy the camera’s eye on her. Besides, kids are stupid sometimes, and often do stupid things that get caught on camera. It happens. But hey, at least the nerd gets to pull more than one chick in the film, not even I could claim that in high school! You go, pizza face! Basketballer Colin is the film’s nice guy, and I bet there’s plenty of people out there who will find resonance in his story. My guess is that people are gonna identify more with the horrifically embarrassing stuff that happens to Hannah, and some of the thoroughly disgraceful stuff Megan and her bitchy pals do, notably sending a scandalous photo of a former friend to everyone at school via email, and childishly harassing her via phone, for seemingly infantile reasons. Kids are horrible sometimes, and I reckon that whilst the cameras probably emboldened Megan and co, they’d still have done it without the cameras being there.

Overall the slightly dubious techniques employed in one or two scenes are forgiven when what Burstein manages to capture so accurately encapsulates the misery, the pressure, the heartbreak, the social embarrassment, of the high school experience. It’s true to life in essence, at the very least. It’s not a perfect film by a long shot, but it’s pretty amazing at times, if a bit of a downer for some people. Whether you were a geek, a non-conformist, a clique-minded person or a ‘sporto’ (to use a term from the Book of Hughes) in school, you might find yourself seeing things from another perspective with this film, especially if like me, you’re far enough removed from high school (22 years ago for me. Dear God, did I just admit that?) to look at things a little more objectively. Despite it essentially being a straight-up documentary, the film deserves to be mentioned in the same breath as John Hughes’ teen films in capturing the essence of that awkward, often painful period in a person’s life.

Rating: B-