Booksmart (2019)

Every now and then, a new high school coming-of-age film makes its way into our heart and instantly becomes a classic. Recently, thankfully, we've had plenty of female-led ones — just think of Easy A, The Edge of Seventeen, or Lady Bird. Olivia Wilde's directorial debut, Booksmart, is not quite the revelation I was led to believe it'd be, but it's nevertheless a smart, energetic and fun teenage film with a nice twist on the genre.

The film follows two best friends, Molly (Beanie Feldstein) and Amy (Kaitlyn Dever), whose youth so far has been all work and no play as they both have been trying to ensure themselves a place in the college of their dreams, hence they've been missing out on all the high school experiences. On the eve of their graduation, they discover that, no matter how little they worked, their classmates are all either going to great colleges — the "easy" girl (Molly Gordon) is going to Yale just like Molly — or landing dream jobs — the twenty-year-old stoner (Eduardo Franco) is going to work at Google. 

Upon discovering this, Molly's world is brutally upended, and she is overwhelmed that she and Amy have wasted so much time being perfect students and nothing else when they could have had both a social life and get into a good college. Determined to make up for lost time, the two friends set out on a wild and crazy mission of having four years of partying and fun in one night. 

Booksmart's is a very simple story, one that has been done before as it's very reminiscent of Superbad — it is essentially the girl version of it —, and there are some wasted situations there and there — when Molly and Amy go to the wrong party and end up at George's mystery murder party it could have been so much fun if handled properly but instead the writers (Susanna Fogel, Emily Halpern, Sarah Haskins, and Katie Silberman) went for cheap laughs and made Molly and Amy take a weird and quite unsettling drug trip — but, overall, the girls' shenanigans are entertaining and fun to watch. 

The characters, unfortunately, don't go past the Saturday Night Live-style caricatures and the high school stereotypes. Also, it was quite disappointing to see how clichéd the gay characters were considering how much thought was put into the lesbian character, Amy, and the character of the teacher, Miss Fine (Jessica Williams), has a quite disappointing/problematic development. 

Thankfully, the two leading characters are fleshed out and compelling young women as the writers decided to focus on friendship and feminism rather than teen themes such as hooking up and getting drunk/high. Also, the chemistry Feldstein and Dever share is so genuine, you can't help but fall in love with them and their friendship — watching them fight like that at the party was truly heartbreaking. 

Great chemistry isn't the only thing that Feldstein and Dever bring to the film as they both give energetic and lovable performances, the first nailing the type A personality, the latter delivering very well the (sexual) struggles of a young lesbian. As for the rest of the cast, ,the actors all provide a more than solid support, whether it's Billie Lourde (Carrie Fisher's daughter) who steals the show every time she is on screen as the wild Gigi, or Noah Galvin and Austin Crute who do wonders with their criminally stereotyped gay characters. 

The comedy is another aspect of Booksmart that didn't fully work for me. While there's plenty of effective and nicely set-up jokes and gags, there still are some forced jokes are and there and overall the humour is quite raunchy. 

Despite the flaws in the script, Booksmart makes for a solid debut from Wilde who delivers a fun, visually beautiful —some sequences and shots are terrific, and the colours are so vibrant — coming-of-age film with a soundtrack that will eventually grow on you. 

Eighth Grade (2018)

I was checking my Twitter feed when I saw many tweets about Elsie Fisher, specifically praising her performance in Eighth Grade. I had never heard of her nor about the movie but everyone seemed to love both her and the film so I checked it out.

The film tells the story of Kayla Day (Elsie Fisher), a shy, insecure and socially awkward teenage girl who suffers from anxiety and yet makes YouTube videos where she dispenses life advice. It follows Kayla as she navigates through the final days of eighth grade and goes through a series of emotions while trying to put herself out there. Whatever that means —if you've seen it, you know what I mean. 

Anyways, the film doesn't have much of a plot as we follow a series of random things happening to Kayla, which isn't that important as Eighth Grade is a coming-of-age story. The problem is that it doesn't differ much from other coming-of-age we've already seen. Sure, it is a very good commentary on the social media generation and the impact technology has on our lives as it shows how difficult it can be to build relationships in today's society since the youngsters spend their entire time on their phones and social media, but the narrative is dull and tedious, and the story evoked no emotional investment in me. 

As a character study, Eighth Grade is quite interesting. Kayla is the perfect example of a modern-day girl as well as a teenager most girls/grown women can relate to. She is obsessed with her phone and social media. She has a crush on the school's bad boy that goes nowhere. She wants to be friends with the popular girls. She has low self-esteem and low self-confidence. She's just starting to figure out her sexuality. She has an awkward relationship with her embarrassing dad. She has mood swings like most teenagers. In a few words, she is a real teenage girl and because of it, she is very sympathetic and likeable. 

Bo Burnham's writing though isn't the only aspect of Eighth Grade that deserves to be praised as Elsie Fisher's performance is nothing short of excellent. She gives such an authentic, genuine performance as the shy and lonely girl suffering from anxiety. She struggles a lot, mostly with herself, and because of Fisher, we feel her pain. And her hesitation makes the character very believable.

A24, Sony Pictures Releasing

As for the direction, I'm pleasantly surprised with the result, I must say. Since Bo Burnham is a comedian, I wasn't expecting such a serious and mature approach which he's great at. The camera work works well with the film's theme as it includes many awkward close-ups and confusing scenes. The music, on the other hand, is a bit too much. While at times it perfectly fits the scene —when the guy Kayla has a crush on appears at the pool party, there's an horror-like tune playing. If you consider the genre of the film, it feels completely out of place. If you consider how Kayla feels in that moment, it couldn't be more appropriate than that— overall, there are too many music-driven scenes and it often feels like a music video.

Ultimately, while it isn't the most engaging film other there, Eighth Grade is a very accurate portrayal of today's youth and for this reason, it can be hard to watch. It's Fisher's performance though that makes it worth watching.

We Are the Best! (2013)

Many years ago, when I was looking for god only knows what kind of movies (I thought it was movies based on true stories but apparently I was wrong), I stumbled upon We Are the Best! (Swedish: Vi är bäst!), added it to my watchlist and completely forgot about it. Now it has popped out again so I finally checked it out. 

Set in 1980s Stockholm, the film tells the story of Bobo (Mira Barkhammar) and Klara (Mira Grosin), two 13-year-old tomboys who love punk. Sick of being told that punk is dead, they decide to form their own band. There's a problem though, they don't know how to play so they decide to ask another girl at school, Hedvig (Liv LeMoyne), who is not a punk but is still an outcast, to join them as she actually knows how to play. 

And that's it for the plot. It's quite thin, as you can tell, but it's not a problem at all since We Are the Best! is a coming-of-age and coming-of-age movies don't need great plots to keep the audience interested and engaged. 

To do that, you need solid and interesting characters and this film has them. Bobo is neglected by her single mother and pretty much ignored by everyone but her best friend Klara, and, for this reason, she ends up being a little self-centred. Klara tries to mask and hide her insecurities and vulnerabilities behind a tough look --the Mohawk you can see in the poster and punky clothes. The most interesting by far though is Hedvig. She is the one that grows the most in the film, as the friendships with Bobo and Klara lead her to question "her" values --it's actually Hedvig's mother who imposed her values and beliefs into her. In spite of her changes, she still manages to stay true to herself. It's truly a shame that the film focuses more on Bobo and Klara than Hedvig. It's a different story for the adult characters though, they are shallow to say the least.

Svensk Filmindustri

Surprisingly good are the performances from the leading trio. Mira Barkhammar, Mira Grosin and Liv LeMoyne all give such natural and realistic performances, it doesn't feel like they are acting.

All of that being said, We Are the Best! didn't work that well for me. There's something about it that just was off for me. It wasn't as charming as it was supposed to be, it was often dull and you don't really learn anything from it, whether it is what's like to be a teenager or a punk.

Girlhood (2014)

Original Title

Bande de filles

Genre

Drama

Director

Céline Sciamma

Country

France

Cast

Karidja Touré, Assa Sylla, Lindsay Karamoh, Mariétou Touré, Idrissa Diabaté, Simina Soumare, Cyril Mendy, Djibril Gueye, Binta Diop, Chance N'Guessan, Rabah Nait Oufella, Damien Chapelle, Nina Melo, Elyes Sabyani, Halem El Sabagh

Storyline

After meeting a group of 3 free-spirited girls, Marieme (Karidja Touré) starts a new life. She changes her name, her dress code, and quits school to be accepted in the gang, hoping that this will be a way to freedom.

Opinion

In 2014, another film with a similar title came out, "Boyhood", but they couldn't be more different so I don't really get critics relating the two films. Linklater's is a simple coming-of-age, no matter how good it is, it still is a coming-of-age, period. 

"Girlhood", on the other hand, is a pretty good coming-of-age film, but it also is a beautiful, authentic, interesting and emotional portrayal of the hardships of young women, specifically in the suburbs of Paris.

After "Tomboy" - which I'm yet to see but I've heard only good things about it -, French director/writer Céline Sciamma continues portraying the search for a place in the world and for an identity, which are typical of that period in life that seems to becomes more and more difficult, adolescence. And not only she does that with a lot of sensitivity, but she does not judge the actions of the characters. 

All she does, with a very quietly paced narrative, is focusing on the main character, Marienne, a 16-year-old black girl living in the suburbs of Paris, a girl that is oppressed by her family, especially by her bigger brother, and that tries as hard as she can to earn her freedom.

Sciamma does such a good job that, just like her, we won't judge Marieme for the things she does, rather we'll be able to understand her decisions. And that's because we get a true sense of her circumstances as the director wonderfully explores what it means to be young, uneducated and black in France.

However, the greatest strength of the film is Karidja Touré. The young actress carries the whole film on her shoulders, she delivers a powerful performance as Marieme and she is the one that makes the film so engaging. 

Hello, My Name is Frank (2014)

Genre

Comedy | Drama

Director

Dale Peterson

Country

USA

Cast

Garrett M. Brown, Rachel DiPillo, Hayley Kiyoko, Mary Kate Wiles, Travis Caldwell, Tess Harper, Wayne Duvall, Brent Briscoe, Nate Hartley, Ray Xifo, Kitty Swink, James DuMont, Eileen Galindo, Karina Bonnefil, Graham Sibley

Storyline

Frank (Garrett M. Brown), a 59-year old recluse who suffers from Tourette Syndrome, embarks on a road-trip with a group of teenage girls.

Opinion

Making a film on those with diseases isn't the easiest thing to do. Things get even more complicated when adding comedy because chances are the film is going to be offensive. Chances are the film won't be able to be funny and respectful at the same time. That being said, "Hello, My Name is Frank" finds the perfect balance between drama and comedy, and the result is a funny, sensitive and moving road-trip film.

The film mostly focuses on Frank, an elderly man with severe Tourette Syndrome, as he copes with the loss of his caregiver along with her daughter Laura. He has both physical and verbal Tourette, which means he both has ticks and verbal outbursts.

The filmmakers managed to portray Frank as a human being, as a 'normal' person just like me, and showed the person behind the syndrome, a man with dreams like everyone else. Sure, Frank's outbursts can be funny sometimes, but the filmmakers don't emphasise it, on the contrary they move on like nothing happened. 

In addition to Frank, the film features other interesting and well crafted character, in particular three teenage girls: Laura who always puts the others first as a way to distract herself from the pain of the departure of the mother, Alisa who lives everyday like it's her last and Kim who is struggling with her faith, and the future her parents decided for her. This three additional characters makes the film successful as a coming-of-age tale as well.

The acting is arguably the best part of the film. Garrett M. Brown is fantastic as Frank. Actually he owns the role and helps the audience to get inside Frank's head and feel the character. Good performances also come from the younger cast. Rachel DiPillo does a good job portraying Laura and her pain and Mary Kate Wiles makes you sympathize with her character, but the stand out is Hayley Kiyoko and her portrayal of Alisa that is far away from the stereotypical free-spirit girl. 

It released on VOD on May 17th. Definitely worth checking out. 

Me and Earl and the Dying Girl (2015)

Genre

Comedy | Drama

Director

Alfonso Gomez-Rejon

Country

USA

Cast

Thomas Mann, Olivia Cooke, RJ Cyler, Nick Offerman, Molly Shannon, Jon Bernthal, Connie Britton, Chelsea T. Zhang, Katherine C. Hughes, Natalie Marchelletta, Matt Bennett, Bobb'e J. Thompson, Hugh Jackman, Gavin Dietz, Edward DeBruce III

Storyline

Seventeen-year-old Greg (Thomas Mann) has managed to become part of every social group at his Pittsburgh high school without having any friends, but his life changes when his mother (Connie Britton) forces him to befriend Rachel (Olivia Cooke), a girl he hasn't spoken to since kindergarten, who has leukemia.

Opinion

Before saying anything else, it had to be mentioned that this is nothing like "The Fault in Our Stars". This is not a romance, and this is not about dealing with cancer, so stop thinking about that film, because it would be a blasphemy to even compare the two pictures. That being made clear, let's jump into the real deal.

A soulful take on the coming-of-age genre, "Me and Earl and the Dying Girl" is a subtle and delightful portrait of the birth and development of a beautiful, unfortunately doomed friendship.

That's right, the main theme of the film is not the adolescent terminal illness which has now become a firm element in coming-of-age stories in both literary and cinematic field - even though it has a central role in this story -, but the friendship between Greg, an awkward guy who created an emotional barrier towards everyone to avoid suffering, and is afraid to grow up and face the responsibilities that the adult world would imply, and Rachel, a girl who is the portrait of maturity, and has rationally accepted her terrible fate.

The great and clever screenplay by Jesse Andrews, author of the novel this film is adapted from, deals with sickness in a wonderful and human way. Whether through comedy, wit or drama, Andrews made a remarkable story.

Alfonso Gomez-Rejon, who is known for his work on American Horror Story and was a personal assistant to Martin Scorsese and Alejandro Iñárritu, shows his talent with beautiful stop-motion animation, and a great camera work, which resemble the symmetrical precision of Wes Anderson. The cinematography is gorgeous and gives the story so much life.

Along with a beautiful soundtrack, the film also features a young and promising cast. Thomas Mann does a great job as Greg; his detached performance is spot-on! However, Olivia Cooke was the biggest surprise to me. Based on her performance in "Ouija", my expectations were very low, but she gives a heart-felt performance as Rachel. R.J. Cyler also bring an excellent performance as Earl, Greg's co-worker. The supporting cast does a great job as well, especially Connie Britton, Molly Shannon and Nick Offerman. And I must mention Jon Bernthal who just proved me you can't dislike an actor because of a single role. 

Ultimately, this is a must watch for everyone, and just because there isn't a love story it doesn't mean it's not emotional. Just be careful who you watch it with, it will make you cry.

 "Dear Pittsburgh State Admissions, I'm writing on behalf of someone who gave me half a year of his life at the time when I was at my most difficult to be around. He has a very low opinion of himself, which is why I think it's necessary that you hear from someone who sees him as he actually is: A limitlessly kind, sweet, giving, and genuine person. No matter how much he would deny it. The drop in his academic performance this year is the consequence of all the time he spent with me and the time he spent making things for me and how hard that was for him. You can ask him about it, but his sort of over the top humility will probably get in the way. No one has done more to make me smile than he has. And no one ever could." - Rachel

Theeb (2014)

Original Title

ذيب 

Genre

Adventure | Drama

Director

Naji Abu Nowar

Country

Jordan | United Arab Emirates | Qatar | UK

Cast

Jacir Eid Al-Hwietat, Hussein Salameh Al-Sweilhiyeen, Hassan Mutlag Al-Maraiyeh, Jack Fox

Storyline

During World War I, a young Bedouin boy (Jacir Eid Al-Hwietat) experiences a greatly hastened coming of age as he embarks on a perilous desert journey to guide a British officer (Jack Fox) to his secret destination.

Opinion

As the night of the Oscar approaches, I'm trying to catch up on the films I've missed, and here I am, reviewing this beautiful little gem.

Feature length debut of Jordanian director Naji Abu Nowar, "Theeb" is a touching and thoughtful story of boyhood, manhood, survival and betrayal beautifully captured from start to finish.

We find ourselves in those same remote deserts that many years ago accommodated Lawrence of Arabia. Theeb's trip however is far less adventurous, and, unaware of the world and the men inhabiting it who do little good and a lot of bad, the young boy is forced to abandon childhood and he is catapulted into manhood.

With a simple, yet engaging and never boring story, and through the eyes of a boy, Naji Abu Nowar tells how war enters the nomadic life and upset the traditions, rules and balance of the people living in those lands.

Wolfgang Thaler's eloquent camerawork is fascinating and he captured the stunning scenery so beautifully that helps suggest emotional state. Not least is the extraordinary and hypnotic exotic musical score.

Nowar's decision to use non-actors in his debut was a bold move that eventually turned out to be absolutely spot-on. Jacir Eid Al-Hwietat portrays young Theeb wonderfully, and provides a sorrowfully expressive lead, and the affection for each other conveyed by him and Hussein Salameh Al-Sweilhiyeen (real-life cousin) is so intense that quickly wins you over. Hassan Mutlag Al-Maraiyeh does a fine job and he's menacing just enough as the ruthless Stranger.

If the wolves offer friendship, do not count on success. They will not stand beside you when you are facing death.

Dazed and Confused (1993)

Genre

Comedy

Director

Richard Linklater

Country

United States

Cast

Jason London, Joey Lauren Adams, Milla Jovovich, Shawn Andrews, Rory Cochrane, Adam Goldberg, Anthony Rapp, Sasha Jenson, Marissa Ribisi, Deena Martin, Michelle Burke, Cole Hauser, Christine Harnos, Wiley Wiggins, Mark Vandermeulen, Esteban Powell, Jeremy Fox, Ben Affleck, Jason O. Smith, Christin Hinojosa, Parker Posey, Matthew McConaughey, Catherine Morris, Nicky Katt

Plot

It is May 28, 1976, the last day of school at Lee High School in the suburbs of Austin, Texas. The next year's group of seniors are preparing for the annual hazing of incoming freshmen, and everyone is trying to get stoned, drunk, or laid.

Opinion

Directed and written by the amazing Richard Linklater, Dazed and Confused shows the highs and lows of partying, friendship and drugs. Underrated and ignored at first, later achieved cult film status, in my opinion, this is one of the best teen films ever made.

The cast is great: it is no wonder that a majority of them - Jason London, Milla Jovovich, Rory Cochrane, Adam Goldberg, Sasha Jenson, Parker Posey and Matthew McConaughey - became major stars. 

Buy on Amazon.com | Buy/Rent on Amazon Instant Video

Quotes

Cynthia: God, don't you ever feel like everything we do and everything we've been taught is just to service the future?

Tony: Yeah I know, like it's all preparation.

Cynthia: Right. But what are we preparing ourselves for?

Mike: Death.

Tony: Life of the party.

Mike: It's true.

Cynthia: You know, but that's valid because if we are all gonna die anyway shouldn't we be enjoying ourselves now? You know, I'd like to quit thinking of the present, like right now, as some minor insignificant preamble to something else.

Rating

8.5/10

The Perks of Being a Wallflower (2012)

Genre

Drama | Romance

Director

Stephen Chbosky

Country

United States

Cast
Logan Lerman, Emma Watson, Ezra Miller, Mae Whitman, Kate Walsh, Dylan McDermott, Melanie Lynskey, Julia Garner, Nina Dobrev, Johnny Simmons, Paul Rudd, Tom Savini, Joan Cusack, Nicholas Braun, Reece Thompson

Plot
Charlie Kelmeckis (Logan Lerman) is uneasy about beginning his freshman year of high school: he's shy and finds difficulty in making friends.

Charlie is befriended by two seniors, Sam (Emma Watson) and her step-brother Patrick (Ezra Miller) and he begins to share social activities with them. 

At a house party Charlie unwittingly eats a cannabis brownie, gets high and discloses to Sam that the year before his best friend committed suicide. Sam realizes that Charlie hasn't other friends so she makes effort to bring him into her group of friends.

Opinion
This film is brilliantly crafted and reflects the fast-paced world we live in. Stephen Chbosky, writer and director,  pander his cast, giving more space for the editing.

Logan Lerman perfectly represents Charlie; sensational are the performances of Emma Watson and Ezra Miller. 

Quotes
I walk around the school hallways and look at the people. I look at the teachers and wonder why they're here. If they like their jobs. Or us. And I wonder how smart they were when they were fifteen. Not in a mean way. In a curious way. It's like looking at all the students and wondering who's had their heart broken that day, and how they are able to cope with having three quizzes and a book report due on top of that. Or wondering who did the heart breaking. And wondering why.

Rating
8.3/10

Boyhood (2014)

Genre

Drama

Director

Richard Linklater

Country

United States

Cast
Ellar Coltrane, Patricia Arquette, Lorelei Linklater, Ethan Hawke, Libby Villari, Marco Perella, Jamie Howard, Brad Hawkins, Jenni Tooley, Richard Andrew Jones, Karen Jones, Bill Wise, Zoe Graham, Charlie Sexton, Barbara Chisholm, Cassidy Johnson, Richard Robichaux, Tom McTigue, Will Harris, Andrea Chen, Maximillian McNamara, Taylor Weaver, Jessi Mechler

Plot

The film tells the story of the life of Mason Evans Jr. (Ellar Coltrane), from the age of eight to the age of twenty, describing his relationship with divorce parents, removals, new schools, the failed marriages of his mother (Patricia Arquette), the troubled relationship with his sister Samantha (Lorelei Linklater), the new family of his father (Ethan Hawke), and the cultural, social and political changes in years. 

Opinion

Boyhood or "The Twelve-Year Project" is outstanding. Linklater has assemble the same crew and the same cast every year for 12 years to film some scenes, in order to follow the growth of the characters with the actors'.

The film (165 minutes) is smooth, never boring and has no special effects. It’s useless to mention the cleverness of the two young actors, of the director and of the Arquette-Hawke duo.

Quotes

You know how everyone's always saying seize the moment? I don't know, I'm kind of thinking it’s the other way around, you know, like the moment seizes us.

I just feel like there are so many things that I could be doing and probably want to be doing that I'm just not.

Rating

9.0/10