Review of American Teen (2008) by Scott M — 14 May 2013

This is a fascinating documentary which captures so much of the pain, heartbreak, meanness, and anxiety of high school, and teenage life in America. The filmmaker followed several high school students in Warsaw Indiana during their senior year, in school, at home, and hanging out.

It presents them as they see themselves, and as they are seen by others. Even though it consists entirely of these kids daily lives, there is surprising drama and psychological depth, from the loner desperate for a girlfriend, to the stereotypical mean girl whose teasing and cruelty cover up deep pain and crushing parental pressure.

All of the kids are sympathetic and multidimensional but I was surprised at just how unsupportive and frankly mean some of their parents could be to them. There's also seemingly limitless insights to be gleaned about family life, class issues, school bureaucracy and adolescence from these ordinary midwestern teens.

If I had to criticize anything about this film it would be it's length, I would have loved another hour and a half of this and the DVD does include some extra scenes that were cut that are very much worth watching.

This film won an award at Sundance for direction and it is indeed a very worthy film which vividly portrays the social, educational, and family lives of teenagers and their sad but hopeful young lives.