Need a Redbox? Check out "The Perks of Being a Wallflower".

The Perks of Being a Wallflower

Director: Steve Chbosky
Cast: Logan Lerman, Emma Watson, Ezra Miller, and Paul Rudd.
Rated PG-13 for mature thematic material, drug and alcohol use, sexual content including references, and a fight - all involving teens.

There have been many films about a teenage outsider just trying to survive high school and, if possible, win the heart of that one amazing girl. Perks is another one of those stories. What makes this film stand out is its great young cast and the subtle, yet honest, performance by Logan Lerman. The late John Hughes once said that adults tend to treat teenagers and their problems as inferior to real adult problems. According to Hughes, when you are a teenager and you are going through those problems, they are as real as anything, and because they are real they should not dismissed so easily. Writer/director Steve Chbosky definitely applies what Hughes was saying with this film.

Charlie (Lerman) is starting his freshman year shortly after losing his best friend to suicide. He has no friends and not even his older sister will sit with him at lunch. Charlie often writes letters to some mysterious penpal (possibly himself) describing his feelings. He also talks about an aunt that was his best friend before her death when he was just a boy. Soon, Charlie is befriended by a free spirited senior, Patrick (Ezra Miller), and his step sister, Sam (Emma Watson). Charlie quickly begins falling for Sam as he spends more time with her discovering how much they have in common especially when it comes to music and literature. As the school year comes to an end Charlie must prepare to let Sam go off to college, and he must come to terms with what really happened with his aunt.

As I briefly mentioned before, this young cast is just fantastic. Ezra Miller has a stand out performance as the fun, yet sensitive Patrick. Emma Watson proves that she has the potential to have a wonderful career outside of the Harry Potter universe. There is great warmth and charm that she brings to her character. Logan Lerman is sensational as Charlie. His character could have easily been too bland or Lerman could have overacted some scenes, but instead he brings Charlie to life in such a believable way. Great writing and great characters make a great movie.

 

RATING:  A-