American Teen - Review

American Teen
Ages: General Audience

This is a documentary about mainly four teenagers in their senior year in a mid-Western high school. Where did they get these kids? They are unrelenting stereotypes and as such you keep hoping that something out of the ordinary will happen to them - it doesn't. The year's activities mostly involve dating, crushes, pairing and un-paring, and utter devastation when that happens. There is some basketball, but never any studying, no classes, action takes place in the corridors. The school has a caste system as rigid as India, and crossing lines is not tolerated.

The film was presented at the Sundance Film Festival in January 2008, the US primary elections had been going since January 2008. Not a political word in the movie - not by adults, not by the kids, not even a poster. It's unreal. How would you expect a story pan our if you had:

1. A rich queen bee whose father expects her to get into Notre Dame.

2. An artistic rebel who wants to leave Indiana for San Francisco.

3. Poor boy but basketball star, who needs a scholarship to get into college - otherwise it's the army.

4. The nerd - a minus in self confidence - will he get a girl?

If it was in an urban environment where most of the population of the US lives:

1. She gets pregnant and puts off college
2. Works in a nail salon - gets emphysema
3. Stray bullet hits his spine - becomes a paraplegic
4. Becomes dope dealer to get street cred

Well this story takes place in Warsaw Indiana - in the words in the movie itself, "a mid-Western red state, mostly Christian, mostly white, mostly middle class except for some wealthy families", and so the story goes:

1. She gets into Notre Dame
2. She gets to San Francisco
3. He gets a scholarship
4. He gets a date but still a nerd in college

The movie may play well in the boonies - but no city kid will buy it. There isn't even a heartthrob - they are just kids from Indiana. The video is only sold through Target stores. The special features include Hannah Blogs - the rebel - who is less than a rebel in her blog mostly going on about what she considers the perfect guy.

Fun Factor: So predictable
Female Factor: A queen bee and a rebel

Reviewed by: Editor - 12/08

American Teen

Platform(s): DVD