American Teen
January 2009 Reviewed by: Rad Bennett Format: DVD	(all ratings out of 5): Overall Enjoyment Picture Quality Packaged Extras Sound Quality

Most documentaries only play in large cities, but fueled by positive input from the Sundance Film Festival, American Teen had a more widespread release. Most documentaries look like they were filmed on donated film stock and some sound like they were recorded underwater, but this one has a state-of-the-art 1.85:1 picture and full surround sound that has been used sparingly but is employed with some imagination.

The film might have had wider distribution than the average documentary, but the distribution of the DVD is limited. It is only being sold at Target stores, though you can rent it at most regular outlets. It’s surely worth a rental and perhaps a purchase for some viewers.

Director Nanette Burstein shot miles of film at the high school in Warsaw, Indiana. She chose the school after considering others, and put out a cattle call for teens who would like to star in her movie. She picked five and filmed them during their entire senior year.

There’s Megan Krizmanich, the rich girl who has everything. She's beautiful, talented, and intelligent, and has a lot of attitude that often works at odds with those attributes. She feels that she must be accepted to Notre Dame because that was her father’s school. She’s achieving for him, not for herself.

Cut to Colin Clements, the basketball star. He’s a funny and genuinely warm young person who feels pressure to be the best on his team so he will be noticed and get a university scholarship. Otherwise, he won’t be able to go to college, as his family cannot afford it. He overachieves and puts his team at risk, finally realizing that being a team player will not only score more points for his school but for himself as well.

Jake Tusing is the school nerd. He plays clarinet in the band, is awkward with girls, and has a severe acne problem as well as braces on his teeth. He’s known for saying the wrong thing at the wrong time. "There’s a whole lot of grease on the table now," he says in a breakup scene with the only girl he’s been able to date, "because I put my face on it."

Then there’s Hannah Bailey, the rebel who wants to go to California and become a film director. She’s witty and clever, talented and pretty, but out of the norm. Hannah is special and the focus of one of the most heartrending parts of the movie when her mother blurts out "You’re not special." That scene is but one of many demonstrating that these kids not only have do deal with the fear of going out into the world after their graduation but also the fear of not pleasing overly demanding and unsympathetic parents.

There’s also Mitch Krizmanich, a good-looking jock who is quite shallow until he starts seeing Hannah. That experience brings him to life, and he talks with his peers about how it’s different from anything he has experienced. When push comes to shove, will he break free or retreat into his jock brotherhood?

These kids all seem real because they are real. You can go read their blogs. Because they are so genuine, it is impossible to watch this movie without feeling for them. When one achieves success, you want to cheer and shout, and when one suffers a negative experience, you want to cry a little. They really get under your skin and into your heart.

Adults will appreciate this movie too. Times may have changed but the basics haven’t. A guy can break up with his girl these days by texting, but the feelings are the same as if he’d never heard of a cell phone and did it by writing a note. We’ve all been in the same situations that faced these five seniors as they tried to prepare to deal with the world, and many of us have probably reacted in the same manner.

The picture is drop-dead, Kodak-memory gorgeous. The sound is clear and effective. The rock songs on the soundtrack come across with good transparency and focus. There aren’t too many extras: trailers featuring each lead, a slightly inane "Pop Quiz: Cast Interviews," and "Hannah Blogs." The most interesting ancillary feature is a set of deleted scenes, some quite lengthy, that further develop the characters. I found a few I would have kept and others jettisoned, just as director Burstein did.

This is one documentary I can recommend to anyone. It touches strongly on the human condition and the transition from youth to adulthood. Anyone can relate to that.

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