Between The Wackness and now American Teen, I felt very old this summer, even though I could pass for the older sister of some of these teenagers. (Seriously. Twice in the past week, and four times in the past month, I've been asked what school I go to. Am I reverse aging?) The more I think about American Teen, the more disgruntled I become. Rarely do I agree with anything my partners at the New York Post have to say, but like them, I took pleasure in this documentary's poor performance at the box office.
American Teen (seen Aug. 10, third movie of August)
From the Breakfast Club-evoking poster to the Juno-esque soundtrack, American Teen director Nanette Burstein manipulates and blatantly edits her “characters” in this year-in-the-life high school documentary. Yes, I know the kids of Warsaw, Ind., are real, not screenwriter creations, but they seem scripted. Hannah’s ideas of “punk” and “rebel” feel as if they come out of 1990s grunge primer, and only Colin the basketball player transcends the “jock” storyline stereotype set up for him. A sense of adult irresponsibility pervades American Teen, from the lack of early intervention when breakup depression leads Hannah to miss weeks of school to Burstein seemingly standing by and shooting as Queen Bee Megan paints hateful graffiti on a student’s house. Watching American Teen is like viewing a marathon of MTV reality shows, and we all know how “authentic” those are.
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