525. Perks Of Being A Wallflower

Gosh, how many films do we watch nowadays where teenagers are depicted as super smart?
No disrepects to young people (I have two children of similar age) but they don't really talk like the kids in The Perks Of Being A Wallflower, do they?
Isn't their vocabulary more likely to be inspired by At Home With the Kardashians than Harper Lee's To Kill A Mockingbird?
Or am I doing them a great disservice? Am I just comparing them to the basic conversations about football and being hopeless with girls that my friends and I had, circa 1979?
My point is that I wonder whether Stephen Chbosky's film is more likely to appeal to older people because of the nature of its script.
Certainly, neither Mrs W (thanks to Cineworld for letting her in, even though she had forgotten her Unlimted pass) or me were looking forward to it and were surprised by how much we enjoyed it.
Logan Lerman thankfully shrugs off the awfulness of The Three Musketeers (he was D'Artagnan) to produce a splendid performance as the kid who struggles to fit in until he meets a band of fellow misfits, led by Ezra Miller and Emma Watson.
Miller, who was so good in We Need To talk About Kevin, again excels as the gay teen who is having a closet relationship with a college football star.
And Watson is the third of the Harry Potter stars to prove that there is life after Hogwarts. In all three cases I have to say that I was surprised and pleased that I didn't think about their alter ego for more than five minutes.
Here, Watson convinces as an American who has beauty and style as as well as heap of self-doubt.
In fact, teenage angst is the foundation of the film with all of its characters riddled with it.
Firstly, Lerman's Charlie has been hospitalised because of mental problems which followed his aunt's untimely death.
Secondly, Miller's Patrick can't fit in at school because he isn't the norm and, thirdly, Watson's Sam, is struggling to get grades to get into her university of choice.
There is a love bond between them which, shall we say, becomes complicated.
Chbosky has a big investment with this film. He wrote the novel and the screenplay, directs it and is executive producer.
His risk has paid off. He has created an intelligent, well observed movie which has a great amount of humour and pathos.
Laughs: Five
Jumps: none
Vomit: off screen
Nudity: none
Overall rating: 7.5/10