Well with Halloween over, it’s time to return with more wholesome, less scary films to digest. Although I’ll sure miss Halloween, (at least until next year comes around) it is nice to get back to watching movies that won’t have me jumping at almost every second. So with that said, for this week I chose to review one of my most favorite coming-of-age high school films, The Perks of Being a Wallflower, directed by Stephen Chbosky.
Story
The story follows an awkward high school freshman named Charlie (played by Logan Lerman), who has trouble socializing and making friends. He hasn’t had the best childhood and his high school experience mostly involves other students bullying him. Despite this, he manages to grow a connection with his English teacher (played by Paul Rudd) and two senior students, Sam (played by Emma Watson) and her stepbrother Patrick (played by Ezra Miller). The two invite Charlie to different social gatherings such as a midnight screening of Rocky Horror Picture Show. From then on, the film follows Charlie as he goes through the highs and lows of being a freshman high school student and dealing with what happened to him as a child. The film tackles heavy themes and subject matter, such as depression, anxiety, and loss.
First of all, I love how this film manages to portray real life. The situations these characters experience and how they react to said situations and to each other feels very real. I especially love the character growth of Charlie, but more on that later. As I said before, the film does not shy away from discussing heavy subject matter. Although it does not show it to an extreme extent, (this is a PG-13 rated movie after all) I still felt the film did a terrific job at addressing these themes. I know that so far I must be making this movie sound like a complete downer fest. This however is not true, as the film has a lot of funny moments that had me smiling with glee. Overall, I love this story and how it respectfully portrays these aforementioned themes.
Characters
As I’ve said before, the film follows a group of high school friends, Charlie, Sam and Patrick. Charlie is our main character and my personal favorite. He is shy and socially awkward, but he is also very smart and a caring person as well. At first, he doesn’t want to socialize with anyone, but that all changes when he meets Sam and Patrick. They help break Charlie out of that shell by taking him to different social events and introducing him to their friends. The reason I like Charlie so much is because it’s great to see him grow as a character throughout the film and to learn about his past. He goes through ups and downs during his freshman year and even makes mistakes, but it’s great to see him learn from these mistakes. This makes him feel more like an actual person rather than a character. Another reason as to why Charlie is my favorite character is because I can relate to some aspects of his personality. In high school, I was also really shy and didn’t know how to make friends or to not act awkward. Eventually, I did find my own clique and they helped bust me out of my shell. With that said, I am very glad that a character like this is portrayed in this film because it is rare to see characters like Charlie represented in a lot of coming of age films, especially as the main character.
Of course, I cannot forget about the other characters, Sam and Patrick, however. Both are extremely charismatic and have wonderful personalities and motivations. Sam is Charlie’s love interest and wants to enroll in a prestigious university, not only to receive a great education, but to prove to those that did not believe she could wrong. Patrick is more of the comic relief of this story. He’s very charismatic and funny, but he also has things going on in his life that he is dealing with, such as trying to keep his sexuality a secret.
The chemistry between this trio is also worth mentioning. The way they talk to each other feels so genuine, as if they are really friends. This is mostly thanks to the film’s writing and acting. The three actors portraying the main characters do a great job at pulling off the emotional moments seen here. The supporting characters are also good, but I found them to be a bit forgettable when compared to the main three. Except for Charlie’s English teacher Mr. Anderson. He doesn’t have much screen time in this film, but I am willing to say that he is still a very important character. My reason being one quote that he told Charlie early on in the film: “We accept the love we think we deserve.” I love this quote not only because it is a major factor in Charlie’s growth as a character, but also it’s just a great quote in general. I’ve seen so many unhappy couples and whenever I see them I just think: “Why are they together? They’re clearly not happy.” Then this quote comes to mind and I think the reason as to why they are together is because they think they’re happy, but really they aren’t. Overall, the characters here are great; anyone could relate to what they are going through, though some can be a bit forgettable and I absolutely love that quote from Mr. Anderson.
Music
Most of the music in The Perks of Being a Wallflower isn’t original, but I don’t think that is a bad thing. The songs featured fit well with the time period the movie is set in (the 1980s), but most importantly the music does a great job of establishing the tone of high school. Songs like Temptation by New Order or Come On Eileen by Dexys Midnight Runners are the kinds of songs you would hear being blasted out of a car during a teenage joy ride, which I believe fits this movie nicely.
Final Thoughts
In the end, I adored The Perks of Being a Wallflower. From it’s story of being in high school in the 80s, to respectfully tackling the problems that teenagers can face. It’s wonderful main trio, and a few good supporting characters that get a little overshadowed by our main characters. To a very thought provoking quote on love and relationships, and finally, it’s great selection of music. I recommend The Perks of Being a Wallflower to those who enjoy coming of age films. The film isn’t available for streaming on any platform, so your best bet is to rent or purchase the film on DVD.
Ramblings and Reviews 