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Tuesday, October 16, 2012

Movie Review: The Perks Of Being A Wallflower

To be fair, I’ve been looking forward to this movie for awhile now. I first read the book years ago. I can’t remember if I was still in high school or had just started college, but it doesn’t matter. It’s lingered with me ever since. Then came the news of the casting, and it was literally like they came to my house and asked me who I wanted to see in the film adaptation. Logan Lerman. Emma Watson. Ezra Miller. I can’t think of three young actors that I admire and appreciate more. I’ve followed Lerman since his days in the underrated Jack & Bobby, Watson since (like everyone else) the first Harry Potter installment, and Miller since City Island, though to be honest that was only a few years ago. If the Oscars actually considered “teen” coming-of-age films (they never will), they’d be hard pressed to find better acting in the genre this year.

If Stand By Me is the perfect movie about childhood friendship (and I believe it is), The Perks Of Being A Wallflower is definitely in contention for the perfect movie about post-adolescent friendship. It’s rare to find a film about teens not dedicated to who-is-dating-who these days, and Perks definitely touches some of those familiar tropes, but goes deeper with a darker, more realistic and relatable aesthetic. By the end of the film, I left both devastated and inspired--a bittersweet, complicated jumble that’s all but impossible to find in today’s movies.

If you’re a coming-of-age nut like me, do yourself a favor and seek this movie out. It’s not the most commercial or glossy production in theaters right now, but has incredible heart and a great sense of humor about itself, despite being one of the darker films I’ve seen recently. If nothing else, see it for the actors. They’re incredible. A

QUICK VERDICT: Must Go

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1 Comments:

Anonymous JeffC said...

Saw this opening weekend and I think it's one of my favorite movies of the year, seriously. (Loved Looper too btw!)

4:49 PM  

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