DVD Review: American Teen - Page 3

Part of the conceit of the film is that everyone can relate to one of the five characters. Personally, I didn't fit into any of these five archetypes in high school (and instead fit into the more common, but rarely talked about, anonymous archetype: the kids who aren't popular or geeks, but rather fit in the middle mostly unnoticed), but I found Hannah to be the most interesting character. As an artsy type who wants to move to San Francisco to become a director, I don't think it's a stretch to say that Hannah is the character Nanette Burstein most identified with, which could explain why she got the most favourable edit. However, Burstein does make a solid attempt to present her main characters in a rounded fashion (well, four of the five anyway, as Mitch isn't actually a featured character), making sure to show the quieter side of princess Megan, who opens up about a family tragedy when not actively trying to destroy former friends seemingly for no other reason than to assert her dominance.

The quieter character moments when the kids seem less like they're playing for the cameras and more like they're being themselves are when the movie excels. There are also some interesting developments that push the story into interesting places. But overall, the film's need to go in a more marketable direction works to its detriment. Instead of following the more interesting characters or moments in greater depth, it's forced to keep trying to establish its main characters, even when they're not offering enough to justify their position. The film feels like an upgrade from MTV reality shows, so if you enjoy those but feel guilty for doing so, definitely give American Teen a shot. It's just too bad that the footage may have been better served if it HAD been a reality TV show instead of a feature film documentary.

DVD Review: The DVD is presented in widescreen with a 5.1 Dolby Digital audio track, but as a lower budget documentary, you're not watching it for its visual or audio presentation, and as such, I don't really have anything to say about either. It neither looked or sounded good or bad enough to notice.

Article Author: Andy Sayers

Andy Sayers is a technical writer from Canada, which automatically makes him funnier than people from other countries. When not writing about pop culture, he is consuming it alongside his loving wife.

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