The bar is high, and “American Teen” clears it.

As much as I wanted to wear a cool letterman’s jacket in high school, getting a letter in drama and show choir seemed to cancel out the cool.


Honestly, I was feeling defeated after a sub par cinematic experience. As I walk out of the theater, thinking of the better films of my youth, I spot an iconic poster for a great film. As I approach I get excited, are they really going to re-release “The Breakfast Club”? I’d rather spend the money to see that classic on the big screen then see the garbage I just witnessed. As I approach, I realize that the poster may look like the cast of the classic John Hughes film, but that’s no Emilio!

As I investigate the image I realize that this is a film that’s trying to market itself off the 80’s classic. It’s going by a different title, so it must not be a remake. Besides I would have read something about a remake. Now the idea of selling a film about teenagers on the coat tails of a classic is annoying. I went from annoyed to infuriated in the following weeks as I began to see JC Penny’s commercials that try and rip off the film in a back to school marketing campaign. (Seriously, I vote for a boycott.) When I learned this “American Teen” movie was a documentary about teens, I found myself in a bit of a moral quandary because I was very interested. How could I support a film that is basing its marketing on the publics love for a different film?

After hearing some great things about this documentary that swept Sundance I found myself in a little theater waiting for the film to start. (Clearly a little buzz can have me setting my righteous indignation aside.) I was in High School or worked with High School students for more than half my life, and find it to be an intriguing stage of life. It is a great, difficult and fresh time in life and is fascinating to watch. This movie, American Teen follows a few simple archetypes through their senior year. It shows the cliques and complexities in a funny and heartfelt fashion. It’s a great looking film that doesn’t take itself too seriously. From the great cinematic shots of the hallways to the animation and for the dream sequences, this movie doesn’t follow a basic style of a documentary. The director captures the gravity of various social situations, without making things seem cheesy and forced like an episode of “The Hills.”

You find yourself rooting for the underdog, cursing the villain, and remembering the simplicity of life in high school. I found myself laughing out loud at moments when the rest of the audience sat in silence. I guess it was the nuances of these students that brought me joy. Their pettiness is almost endearing and yet you hurt for them as they experience the parental conflict and breakups. When one of the characters discovers what school they’d be attending I found myself tearing up, remembering that moment in my adolescence. I’d never want to relive high school, the trauma would be too much, but I certainly enjoy watching it. They picked a great town, and a perfect group of students; I found each of them accessible and relatable.

The bar was set high when they made the correlation with my favorite John Hughes film, but I think I may have discovered my favorite documentary of the year. “The Breakfast Club” gave a window into the soul of the jock, the princess, the rebel, the outcast and the geek. While the world has changed drastically, “American Teen” shows that the basics are the same. While we all talk about how our lives have changed dramatically in the years since we left our lockers behind, this film reminds us that we are still basically the same.