American Teen takes place in Warsaw, Indiana and follows the lives of five real-life teenagers during their senior year in high school. The film is a very stylized documentary that invites us into the world of teenage life and it’s not all fun and games. Picking five archetypes, we get a peak into the pressures, the demands, the angst and the hopes and dreams that are all part of being a teenager.

The Characters:

Hannah Bailey (the "rebel) is into the arts, likes to play bass in a rock band and is a wannabe filmmaker. Her heart is broken early in the school year and is afraid to go back to school to face her ex and potential embarrassment.

Colin Clemens (the jock) is popular in the school and is an all-star basketball student. Colin is getting pressured by his father to enroll in the military if he can’t get a scholarship.

Mitch Reinholt (the heartthrob) is also a basketball player and is popular in school which may be attributed to his good looks. He decides to do the unthinkable and date outside his group by dating “the rebel”!

Megan Krizmanich (the prom queen) is the popular princess of the school. On the surface she has everything going for her- wealth, good looks, excels in school and has plenty of friends. Yet, she is still dealing two years later with the suicide of her sister and the self induced stress about whether she will follow in the families foot steps and get into Notre Dame.

Jake Tusing (the geek) is the introvert odd man out that hides in the shadows. He prefers to stay at home and play video games then to be part of school activities. The helpless romantic, Jake yearns to find happiness with a girlfriend and live happily ever after.

American Teen works because filmmaker Nanette Burstein was able to earn the trust of these teenagers and the film excels because of the honesty. The film came out of an open casting during what was the junior year of these students and focused on ten students before later whittling it down to these five.

Along with the film we have some nice bonus features. “Pop Quiz: Cast Interviews” is a little short that breaks down through questions with the five characters, the process of the film and their experience. “Hannah Blogs” is a series of ten video blogs that “the rebel” talks about everything from guys to finishing her first short film. There are six deleted scenes that are as strong as anything in the film and trailers of the film that each focuses on one of the major characters.

Watching American Teen you‘ll forget this is even a documentary at times and in fact the film has been accused of being scripted. This is more of a compliment to the filmmakers at how this film is truly polished and well rounded. American Teen reminds us of our high school life and shows us that not much has changed. American Teen is a powerful film and don’t be turned away by the word “documentary”.

Write Comment
Name:	Guest
Title:
Comment:
Code:*

Powered by AkoComment 2.0!