Review of Short Term 12 (2013) by Jordan G — 02 Apr 2014

This movie is a brilliant example of what a 'Dramedy' should be. It knows exactly when to be funny and when to tackle more serious issues. Short Term 12 takes place at a home for at-risk teens.

Supervised by four people, probably in their mid-30's, who find the balance between being cool and authoritative. The newcomer, Nate, has to ease into the sometimes wild and vicious fits that only afflicted humanity can muster.

When Mason (John Gallagher Jr) begins the film telling a funny story about when he defecated his pants on a bus, Pete laughs, but later in the movie when it is revealed that the bully who picked on him killed himself and was found in a bush, he is taken aback.

"Yea. I don't like that part," Mason replies. The standout performance, of this film and of her young career, is Brie Larson. She is at the center of this home, and the center of the story.

Having gone through a lot of what the kids are suffering through when she was a girl, Brie Larson's character Grace is able to level with the more afflicted teens who are shocked to find out that they're not alone.

Grace is compassionate for these kids and desperately wants them to do well. When one of the girls is released back to her father who Grace believes is sexually abusive, she blows up on her boss and loses her job.

These kids mean a lot to her and its a way for her to deal with her own pain, but when questions of the future begin to be raised concerning her loving boyfriend, Mason, she is conflicted. This film is a masterpiece of character, mood, and writing.

The world of the at-risk home, even the term "at-risk home," is an interesting hodgepodge family dynamic that is worth investigating. Here our authoritative figures, who are not quite parents, and here are their kids who are not quite their kids.

Everyone knows that this place is only a short term thing, and plus, that they are afflicted, so everyone is free to be themselves and in a way, act out their wild raging impulses with the safe, judge-free environment.

It really is a spectacular situation if you think about. I'll end with this. The ending of this movie is pure gold. I hope it get's the sort of attention and appreciation it deserves. It is the perfect metaphor for the message and tone of the movie.

And I dare say that there is something uniquely American about it.