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A Lot to Learn from American Teen

  • Jeffrey Huston Crosswalk.com Contributing Writer
  • Updated Dec 24, 2008
A Lot to Learn from <i>American Teen</i>

DVD Release Date:  December 21, 2008
Theatrical Release Date:  July 25, 2008 (limited)
Rating:  PG-13 (for some strong language, sexual material, drinking and smoking—all involving teens.)
Genre:  Documentary
Run Time:  95 min
Director:  Nanette Burstein
Cast:  Hannah Bailey, Colin Clemens, Megan Krizmanich, Mitch Reinholt, Jake Tusing

There’s what we hope our kids will be, and then there’s what is—and “what is” is American Teen

Even if your little Tommy or Sally is more virtuous than the teenagers seen here, at the very least it's fair to say that while levels of conduct vary, American Teen honestly portrays how every teenager feels—and does so in compelling fashion.  Despite being a documentary, this is as entertaining, emotional and complex (and well-constructed) a teen flick as anything since the best of John Hughes (Sixteen Candles, The Breakfast Club, Ferris Bueller’s Day Off).

Shot in Warsaw, Indiana over the course of one school year, American Teen follows the lives of five students from the class of 2006 as they experience their senior year.  The core stereotypes are there: the Homecoming Queen (Megan), the Jock (Colin), his friend (Mitch), the geek (Jake), and the rebel (Hannah).  Though living in separate worlds they inevitably cross paths (at times in surprising ways), yet the experience of angst, confusion and hope remains a constant.

Unless you’re completely naïve there’s little that’s surprising in American Teen, but it creates an impact by being consistently revealing.  People are a mix of self-awareness and utter cluelessness—a dichotomy that’s magnified during the teenage years—and we learn as much about these kids through their own candidness as their own stupidity.

Megan consciously wields her popularity with confidence yet instantly resorts to victim status (and vulgar manipulation) when things don’t go her way.  Colin knows his ticket to college is basketball, yet that pressure leads him to do selfish things.  Jake is fully aware of what makes him a “loser,” yet he embraces those tendencies despite wanting to change them.  Mitch is the most assured yet even he struggles with how he’s perceived, and Hannah’s attractive spirit is constantly sabotaged by her emotional fragility.

So as with any good film, you become invested in these people as much for their strengths as their weaknesses, although Megan’s sense of entitlement is so rudely displayed that even when a personal tragedy is revealed it’s hard to be completely empathetic as her general conduct is unforgivable.  On the flip side there is Hannah, an attractive girl that you root for who is from a broken family and has big dreams for her future—and has the drive to realize them—so long as she doesn’t sabotage her present. 

The source of all their shortcomings becomes instantly apparent, sadly, when we meet the parents.  Lord have mercy.  One applies too much pressure, another is way too lenient, and yet another is verbally abusive.  You sit there shaking your head at some of the things they say (or don’t) and permit (or disparage).  It’s a miracle these teens are as stable as they are, considering, and the honest depiction of both kids and adults makes American Teen as instructive a self-examination tool for the parent as the teenager.

Oscar-nominated documentarian Nanette Burstein (The Kid Stays in the Picture) does a magnificent job of finding the stories and the characters within them.  I never found myself impatiently waiting to return to one over the other as each individual narrative was equally compelling.  Indeed, a couple actually intersect in what is the film’s most interesting development as two kids from opposite cliques become close even as the competing social forces may tear them apart.  It’s a moving portrait of what should be socially possible, yet rarely is, as the herd mentality of peer pressure can test even the most genuine connections.

This drama is so, well, dramatic that one has to wonder if some events and decisions would’ve happened if the cameras had not been around.  Still, everyone is so emotionally invested in every turn it’s clear that each experience is real.  So real, in fact, that objectionable content is fairly consistent throughout (see below), giving the film an ironic trait of being the type a lot of parents wouldn’t want their kids to see even though their kids likely live it every day (especially if they attend a public school).  

And so while the parental decision may be difficult, I’ll at least offer this benefit:  American Teen could very well drive home the lessons parents want their kids to learn most.  Teenagers may not be able to see their own faults or recognize their own strengths, but seeing them in someone else (as they can here) could be what opens their eyes to both.

CAUTIONS:

  • Drugs/Alcohol:  Numerous instances of underage drinking, smoking, and partying.  No illicit/illegal drugs.
  • Language/Profanity:  All levels of profanity and crude/sexual language throughout, including two uses of the “F” word.  Also cruel/abusive language between teenagers. Consider this film verbally uncensored.
  • Sex/Nudity:  Some instances of sexual experimentation (such as girls kissing), although no nudity is seen or acts explicitly shown.  Vulgar sexual words and graffiti are also used.
  • Violence/Other:  No major physical violence occurs, although mental/emotional abuse does occur between teenagers.  Nothing “objectionable” from a visual standpoint, but the emotional toll is depicted.

 
Jeffrey Huston is a film director, writer and producer at Steelehouse Productions in Tulsa, Okla.  He is also cohost of the "Steelehouse Podcast,” along with Steelehouse Executive Creative Mark Steele, where each week they discuss God in pop culture. 

To listen to the weekly podcast, please visit www.steelehouse.com or click here.  You can also subscribe to the "Steelehouse Podcast” through iTunes.