The
joys of making the mixed-tape have never been so tragic. It’s a complete and utter shame that kids
these days will never feel the absolute letdown when the girl you passed said
cassette tape to, looks at it, and then moments later sends it to the bottom of
the trash pile to rot out its days lonely and humiliated. What the hell do kids make today, anyway? Ipod playlists?
STORY:
Freshman
hermit, Charlie (Logan Lerman), spends most of his precious time staring at
other kids, reading, never masturbating (seems legit), and seeing flashbacks in
his head. That is until Emma Watson
walks into his life, along with her rainbow-flying stepbrother, to teach
Charlie how to ride in the back of a pick-up truck, while barreling through a
tunnel. Crazy high school antics
ensue.
I'm queen of the...oh, forget it.
THOUGHTS ON THE
BOOK:
Five
words: do not read the book. Simple
enough. I attempted to breeze through
the NY Times bestseller by Stephen Chbosky (Chbosky also wrote and directed the
movie), because of all the hype and then I wanted to be able to compare the
two. Well, I never went passed page 50.
Never judge a book by its cover, unless...
The
book is written in a series of love notes to a friend (that’s you the reader),
that have absolutely no sense of cohesion whatsoever. I’ve seen better paragraph structure from 5th
graders shackled with A.D.H.D., while skydiving out of a Cessna. Alright, maybe I’m reaching too far with that
one: minus the A.D.H.D.
Love this.
Seriously…this
is what constitutes a best-seller? Holy
crap, I’ve been writing all wrong. I
should just ramble on about whatever slop comes to mind at any given time, and BAM—best seller.
But,
this brings us to the good news…
THOUGHTS ON THE
MOVIE:
Thank
goodness Stephen Chbosky made the movie.
That way, every citizen that doesn’t have the time to read the book, can
bypass that mess and enjoy a coming-to-age story in less than two hours.
Some
of the passages/love-notes from the book are read by the movie’s protagonist,
but they’re shortened, to the point, and don’t go off the rails after three
words.
The
Perks of Being a Wallflower can be called a Dramedy. A little more drama than comedy—I guess you
can’t win them all.
Is that girl on the end having fun, or what?!
The
movie has those scenes where you’re totally embarrassed for the
characters. And if that’s happening,
then the acting and dialogue is top notch.
Every actor/actress plays the perfect role, and not once did I think of
that ass-clown wizard, while watching this movie. Thumbs up.
Yeah, I think my magic days are behind me.
The
story deals with all the problems you can throw at one freshman, without him
going off the deep end—well, you’ll have to watch the movie to see the
outcome. Homosexuality, teen crush, a
friend’s death, a family member’s death, awkward sex, awkward break-ups,
assaulting one’s better-half, weird high school dances, drug and alcohol
addictions, mixed cassette tapes, bad music, pretty girls, terrible choices,
molestation, and even the kitchen sink is thrown in just for good measure and a
couple of laughs.
Now,
if you’re not a fan of awkward situations, example: male teen dressing in drag,
and then singing and dancing in front of the camera; or conversations about
oral sex and the like, then you might want to hold off. Not that those scenes are in a lot of the
movie, but they are there. So if you’re
renting this for your twelve-year old because he gets a hard-on for Hermione
Granger, then maybe you should watch it first, and then decide what’s good for
your kid. Otherwise, have at it.
Ummm...yeah, this speaks for itself.
It’s
a perfect high school romp that will have you laughing out loud in some spots. I couldn’t contain my chuckles watching
Charlie attempt to deal with his first girlfriend, who happens to be a gothic
Buddhist.
"I'm going to take your pants off now." Oh, oh...okay.
Dylan
McDermott who plays Charlie’s father in the movie, has around 15 minutes of
screen time, but in those minutes, he has some of the most memorable
dialogue. McDermott rattles off his
thoughts about his daughter’s boyfriend, and then there’s a great line when Charlie
asks him for 30 dollars. Absolutely
priceless.
Yep, I'm just that smooth.
The
Perks of Being a Wallflower could have went down the depressing road very
easily, but luckily it toes the line instead, leaving you pining for the old
days. Guys, if for some reason your
relationship with your girl is on the fence, this might not be the best rental
for movie night. Those hilarious scenes
with Charlie’s first girlfriend might hit a little closer to home than you’d
like. Just saying. Otherwise, it’s a solid teen exploration
film.
4
out of 5 stars (minus 1 star for making me attempt the book first)
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