Review of American Teen (2008) by Bri N — 28 Jan 2009

It's all right, but not all that special. It does "go beyond the enduring stereotypes of high school," but just barely. It scratches about 2 cm below that veneer, to show us that the rich, popular girl has pressure too, and that the artsy rebel can still fall in love with a jock. Really, it's nothing that wasn't better explored in The Breakfast Club. And don't tell me that that film is fiction & this one is not. This is about as close to fiction as any documentary I've seen. I'm shocked how many people watch this film and apparently don't recognize the deep, deep bias the director shows in favor of Hannah. Don't get me wrong, Hannah seems like a nice enough girl, but obviously the director identified with her, and does nothing but portray her in the light that she herself would prefer. It makes the subject position really untrustworthy, and at that point it's practically fiction. And as fiction, it wouldn't be very good. Honestly, the only story line that was at all surprising was Jake. That kid is remarkably forthright. Even most of his story, though, is just what you'd expect.

So it's very watchable, but not much of a documentary.