Marval Movie

It is my personal opinion that High School is more of a right of passage than any kind of educational system. If you can make it through the four or five years that it takes to get out of it without failing every subject and/or having a complete breakdown then that's an accomplishment.

The Perks of Being a Wallflower shows High School as a darker-place than has ever been displayed before on film, it shows how terrible the students can be and the pressures of just being yourself.

The film has Charlie (Logan Lerman) a nervous, smart teenager who is just starting High School.  He also has a condition that he takes a little medication for, the movie never states what his condition is and if its real then I don't know about it.

The Perks of Being a Wallflower was a book before it was a film (nothing new there) but this time the author of the book, Stephen Chbosky also is the writer and director of the film, that's different. Apparently he couldn't get the film made when he started out so he wrote the book and when Hollywood came knocking he insisted that he also be the Director. Chbosky doesn't offer much visually as a Director but his writing and his ability of working with actors to bring out some great lively performances is some great stuff and puts him in a high place of talented Directors.

Soon Charlie meets Patrick (Ezra Miller) an incredibly funny, witty senior in his class who is probably my favorite character. Patrick is a great character and cements Miller as a top notch talent who tackles comedy, drama as well as gets a chance to put on the leggings and does his best Tim Curry impression in Rocky Horror Picture Show and as a huge fan of The Rocky Horror Picture Show I had some big standards and he delivered in spades. Charlie then meets Patrick's stepsister Sam (Emma Watson) who when we first see her appears to Charlie as an angelic figure to shine a light to Charlie in this dark time.

Patrick and Sam serve as Charlies  guardians, or pillars that keep him from sinking too deep into the darkness of his condition, they talk, make jokes and listen to "good music." One of the best scenes is when there driving home and Sam hears a song on the radio that they've never heard before and they take a ride through a tunnel and Sam stands on the back of Patrick's truck and takes a pose that is reminiscent of The Titanic. The song they listen to is David Bowie's Heroes.

Anybody who tells you that High School is "the best time of your life" or "these are the best days of our lives", then they're talking shit and if High School to them was the best time of their lives then who the fuck cares what they think.  What the fuck does it matter if you were popular in High School that's a phase and life gets better after High School, if High School is as good as it gets then by God strike me down now because that's one fucked up, miserable life.

The cast is one of the best things about Wallflower, there are some celebrity cameos that only serves to enhance the experience. There's Tom Savini as a witty arts and crafts teacher and Paul Rudd as Mr. Burton who helps and encourages Charlie through his time at school by giving him books to read and write about. There's also Mae Whitman as Mary Elizabeth a Buddhist Punk rocker (yes that is a walking talking contradiction) who serves as Charlies first girlfriend, even though hes less than enthusiastic about the idea.

Perks of Being a Wallflower is a film that captures the truth about the the world of High School with all the trials and tortures that come with it and how that if you have at least one really good friend then this wont be so bad and if you have more than one then you may just have a good time.

Rating: 3 1/2 stars out of 4