AMERICAN TEEN

MPAA Rating: PG-13 for some strong language, sexual material, some drinking and brief smoking-all involving teens.
Run time: 95 min


What has changed in teenland over 30 years? This documentary shows that nothing has changed much, the same clique and stereotype still rule. This documentary encompass a year of four high school students in Warsaw, Indiana. The students who perfectly fits to the stereotype. There's Megan, the popular queen bee(tch) who has to face pressure from her father to enroll at Notre Dame, Colin Clemens, the popular jock (without annoying attitude), the basketball star who strive to get some scholarship.

Then there's the rebel, Hannah Bailey who looks like the innocent version of Julia Stiles and dreams to study film and Jake Tusing, the self-described nerd, loves video games and shows the lighter side of being a teen. During the whole movie all characters undergo some changes, breakups, success, tears and so on.

What really bothers me is that this film doesn't look like real at all, it looks like staged through careful and meticulous editing. Although the director stated that it was all real, it is hard to believe that this film is real. Not to mention the stereotypes, as if teen life could be easily simplified by these characters (or people in this matter). It doesn't even bother to do a cross stereotype, like a successful nerd or a shy popular kid. It felt like a simple version of any MTV reality show, which doesnt feel real at all. Too bad, the documentary that could be a viewing window for adults to know what does teenland looks now, doesn't differ much from media hyped cliches.