Free American Teen Screening

Thanks LWL for giving me and the girlfriend a chance to see American Teen at the very fun Hospital club.

I enjoyed the film and thought it was well put together. The animation sequences were well thought out and helped give the film some extra depth and creativity. I liked all the characters (Even the blond back stabber) and warmed mostly to the Geek and the Rebel.

All in all though, I left the screening room feeling like I just watched something that had already been done before. I would recommend people to watch American Teen… but really its a movie you'll only watch once.

Written by Ben Campbell on March 4th, 2009 at 13:43

Thanks LWLies for invite! I enjoyed the film very much, although I did wonder throughout how the filmmaker was able to capture every key emotional scene so perfectly i.e. the moment one of the subjects receives a break-up text etc. It did seem rather scripted in that sense. The film's feel-good factor overrode any cynicism I may have felt when questioning the films authenticity as a veritable documentary: The "left boob" comment made me chuckle. The "I left a grease mark on the table because my face is greasy" comment made me laugh aloud.
Some may accuse the film of reinforcing certain stereotypes, but from my limited experience of North American High School culture, those stereotypes are quite true and valid. The film was adept at progressing from 2D caricature portrayals of its subjects, to capturing them at their most vulnerable and subsequently exploding their cartoon images – of the jock, the nerd, the popular girl…
A really good film overall – I would definitely recommend it.

Written by Elias_M on March 6th, 2009 at 12:07