Actually, this white bread/bred--there are no people of color cast as leads--collection of kids seems to have a comparatively easy transition through their teenage angst and raging hormones. Their families aren't impoverished, their parents are present if not always supportive, they don't have drug habits, aren't victims of sexual abuse.
What's the Story?
In contrast to other recent documentaries about coming of age in America, American Teen seems somewhat simplistic, perhaps naive. Take, for example, a film like Very Young Girls (2008), about several New York City teenage girls who're hooked into prostitution and try to establish better, safer, healthier lives for themselves, or Gunnin' For That #1 Spot, in which outstanding high school basketball players--of different ethnicities and from vastly divergent backgrounds--are competing fiercly to get into college and the NBA and are forced, at the same time, to cope with the daunting temptations and pressures presented by instant celebrity.Or we find rural teenagers-at-risk in Bowling For Columbine, Michael Moore's documentary centering around the massacre of students at Columbine High School in Colorado. And, there's the intense, intimate look at teenage sexual abuse at the hands of the clergy revealed in Deliver Us From Evil (2006). The kids of American Teen have none of that. The problems they face are more, well, normal.
Meet The Teens
Meet Colin-the-basketball-jock who's pressured to sustain his game long enough to get a college basketball scholarship, and Megan-the-princess-preppie who's primary angst is over being accepted into her family's alma mater, and Jake-the-nerdy-musician who can't get past worrying whether he can get a date for the prom, and Hannah-the-free-spirited-artiste who struggles to survive two heartbreaks and a scathingly dismissive mother. These kids are genuine, and their issues and stories are effecting--if not tragic. Perhaps that's the point.
Targeted For Teens
American Teen will undoubtedly appeal primaily to middle class middle American teens and their parents--because it deals with that population's problems in a nonjudgemental, never preachy way. The kids are almost sterotypes but each is quirky and charming enough to be engaging. They have pimples. Their hormonal behavior is far from perfect. Each of them struggles and learns something about how they want to live their lives and who they want to become.This film can certainly help to create a meaningful dialogue among teen peers and their parents.
But there are times when situations seem set up, when interactions seem staged. Burstein's use of animation in dream-like sequences to illustrate the kids' innermost thoughts and fantasies is entertaining, but it adds to the feeling that the essentially verite-style documentary is contrived.
Still, because American Teen is so middle of the road--so white bread/bred--some afficionados may find that the film neither meets their documentary expectations nor matches their political predispositions. But that way of thinking has, seems, more to do with viewer profile and agenda than with the film's and Burstein's intentions.
All in all, Burstein provides an intriguing, insightful portrait of contemporary teen life as it plays among the group she's selected to study. They are who they are, and the film is what it is: a glimpse into the hearts of teens in the heartland. It's a uniquely important addition to the current catalog of teen-related documentaries and an informative view of one aspect of the American outlook.
Details
- Release date: July 25, 2008 in New York and LA, with wider release to follow
- Runtime: 95 mins.
- Rated: PG-13 for some strong language, sexual material, some drinking and brief smoking-all involving teens.
- Parents Guide: Content advisory for parents
- Country: USA
- Language: English
- Filming Locations: Warsaw, Indiana, USA
- Theatrical Distribution: Paramount Vantage
- Awards: Sundance Film Festival, 2008, Documentary Directing Award for Nanette Burstein.
