- TV
A documentary about the a group of high school seniors in small town Indiana, American Teen has been a big...
A documentary about the a group of high school seniors in small town Indiana, American Teen has been a big hit with audiences at both the Sundance and South By South West festivals. Film maker Nannette Burstein (Best documentary director at Sundance) follows four students from different social cliques- misfit, nerd, jock and student president- for ten months, trying to understand the universal human qualities and desires shared by these superficially different stereotypes. Insecurities, jealousies, puppy love and the enormity of making decisions about the future that will impact the remainders of their lives are delved into with heavy doses of both intimacy and humour. I guess all of this makes it kind of like a cross between The Breakfast Club and Laguna Beach. Vicarious teen angst, who could resist? Hey, it’s a whole lot easier than living through it.
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70 %152 reviewsRotten Tomatoes® rating
59 %102,246 reviewsAudience score rating
"As docos go, this one's about as gritty as your average episode of Dawson's Creek. The people in it are all white, middle class, eloquent-ish suburbanites - real life Juno MacGuffs and Jim Levensteins living in relatively affluent Warsaw, Indiana. There are no black kids. There's no great poverty. One girl has to live with her Gran because of her mother's manic depression but elsewhere most of the family support networks are intact."
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Flicks
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Flicks"The movie does get under your skin (the tremulous misfit girl, Hannah, might be a breakout role model), but the way it has been put together reminds me of those animal shows where the crew nudges the gazelles in the direction of the lions with multiple cameras standing by."
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Vulture
Vulture"Undeniably entertaining for its zippy presentation."
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Variety
Variety"For all of its access and exposure, American Teen seems skin-deep. It's well shot, with good production values and lots of cool music. But it's fun and facile in much the same way reality TV is."
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Hollywood Reporter
Hollywood Reporter"Shows how a documentary can be as moving and suspenseful as the best narrative feature."
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San Francisco Chronicle
San Francisco Chronicle"Reality TV, welcome to the multiplex. If "The Hills" went back to high school and developed wit, perception and a conscience, it might play something like Nanette Burstein's wallop of a doc."
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Rolling Stone
Rolling StoneAmerican Teen | Details
- Runtime
- 95
- Genre
- Country of origin
- USA
