The Perks of Being a Wallflower

8

SeriosityDec 13, 2012

Surprising amount of depth for a high school drama. Has the feel of not being watered down in any sense (the author being the director has something to do with that). It goes without saying that the cast is outstanding.

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10

theahsanhaseebDec 13, 2012

Just when I started thinking how different a teenage drama could be; how complicated things could be; how many topics could be adjusted in a single plot; how much emotional a teenage movie could be; a person named Stephen Chbosky came up andJust when I started thinking how different a teenage drama could be; how complicated things could be; how many topics could be adjusted in a single plot; how much emotional a teenage movie could be; a person named Stephen Chbosky came up and blew my mind away with his surprising vision. Written and directed by Stephen Chbosky, The Perks of Being a Wallflower is an exceptional coming-of-age film, even one of the best I have watched this year. Why do I consider it one of the best? Film's storyline, its characters and their brilliant performances, the narration and those funny, emotional and uplifting moments spread throughout the film. Talking about the characters, the main characters include Charlie Kelmeckis (played by Logan Lerman) who is a shy, socially awkward and unpopular high school student who lost his best friend recently but he is also sensitive and a serious thinker which makes him different from others. Logan Lerman has played the role really well, regardless of your age, you can feel connected to him and feel his emotions, making it the best peformance of Logan so far. His friends Patrick (played by Ezra Miller) and Sam (played by Emma Watson) are the ones who change his life in a certain way. Both of them give wonderful performances, Watson never disappoints me, whatever role is given to her, she does it extremely well. Ezra Miller's performance is also quite strong, I liked it a lot. He is funny, he makes everyone laugh but deep down, he is depressed and not a lot of people know about it. All of the characters in the film are likeable, whether they are positive or negative, the film's environment is wonderful, I felt really great while watching it. I haven't read the novel so I don't know how much both the movie and the novel vary from each other but I'm completely satisfied as a movie lover, it did the magic for me, it moved me emotionally, it is powerful and soft at the same time. I have decided that the Perks of Being a Wallflower is one of the best films of the year.… Expand

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10

ShiiraDec 11, 2012

This review contains spoilers, click expand to view. Seated at a cafe table for one, a beautiful, young woman, unaccountably lonely, peruses and pines over a comic book, and its handsome male hero. The music video for A-ha's "Take on Me" is the ultimate geek fantasy: the blond seems to have a fondness for an illustrated world over the real one, just like any introverted fanboy. The protagonist, as it turns out, a Norwegian protagonist, without explanation, blinks at the Londoner single, as the comic panel loses its static purpose, when the graphic hero reciprocates the customer's **** of the crush object with a crush of his own, and extends an open invitation to the startled reader, who nevertheless, grabs the hand protruding from the ephemeral page, and enters the diegesis of pencil sketches, suddenly made fluid by the alchemic properties of synth-pop music. In 1985, every sad, maladjusted boy wanted to be A-ha frontman Morten Harket, because that's how a wallflower could be heroic, by saving a damsel in distress from rival motorcyclists armed with pipe wrenches from the safety of a debauchery-free bedroom, alone with his Martha Quinn sex fantasies. Wallflowers get older. Some survive their awkward teenage years, and bloom, like Charlie undoubtedly will, in The Perks of Being a Wallflower, while others, such as Jorge, a morbidly shy dishwasher, will not, ever, in Steve Barron's Choking Man, a micro-indie that shows how ostracized children grow up to be ostracized children. Barron, the filmmaker who helmed "Take on Me", references his music video past, in a scene where Jorge's enemy, the restaurant manager, who delights in torturing the monosyllabic dishwasher about his aloofness, breaks into a mocking rendition of Kajagoogoo's "Too Shy", another early MTV classic. Again, animation is employed, but this time, the optimism, in regard to love, found in "Take on Me" has given way to resignation, and finally, vehemence. No wallflower, struggling through his adolescence, would want to co-opt Jorge's constipated ideas about love. His cartoon bunny rabbits won't even rub noses. Jorge doesn't dare, perhaps, since he knows the cute Chinese waitress could never love him back. For sure, the schizophrenia doesn't help, but the real reason that prevents him from competing with Steve for Aimee's heart is his ramshackle appearance, whereas Charlie, despite being saddled with PSTD, earns Sam's love because the unformed freshman more than offsets his emotional problems with an appealing visage. Charlie is less a nerd than unathletic. At the outset, he suffers the indignity of eating alone in the school cafeteria, but you're never worried for him. That's why the budding writer comes off as whiny and disingenuous when he expresses a concern about not making friends to his teacher. He's good-looking.. Soon enough, Sam, and her half-brother Patrick, take Charlie under their wing, and introduces him to people, self-described as castaways on "the island of misfit toys", wallflowers all. He finds his tribe. The film, and the Steven Chbosky novel it's based on, thankfully, avoids the shortcut of outfitting the nerd with glasses, like, for instance, Dawn Wiener, the president of the Special People Club, in Welcome to the Dollhouse. Whereas the misfits find each other and stick together at Charlie's school, in the Todd Solondz film, the estranged outcasts at Dawn's junior high estrange themselves from each other, choosing to go it alone rather than garner strength in numbers. Here, the weak pick on the weaker, like when Troy, pinned against his locker by the resident 7th grade bullies, lashes out at Dawn for defending him. "Leave me alone, Wiener Dog," he grumbles, humiliated, doubly, since the girl who saves him is perceived as ugly. But even the consensus school pariah, the plucked to death wallflower, has a cruel streak, evoking Groucho Marx's famous quote: "I don't care to belong to any club that will have me as a member," when Ralphie, a charter, and only member of Dawn's social organization, hears himself being called an "a**hole" and a host of other obscenities, as Missy tries to get her older sister to take his phone call. Unlike Charlie, there is no midnight screenings of The Rocky Horror Picture Show" with friends, or being told by a girl that your first kiss should come from somebody who really loves you. Dawn has to settle for a sad night in her clubhouse with a boy, who in the way of introduction, tells her that he's going to rape her, as they stare at the night sky while Debbie Gibson's "Lost in Your Eyes" plays on a cheap tape recorder. Sam kisses Charlie because he has a naif-like animal magnetism. His predecessor, Lucas(from the 1986 film starring Corey Haim), does not, and as a result, Maggie, a cheerleader, rebuffs the younger boy's clumsy attempt at romance, by turning her lips away from his. When you're a wallflower that often gets confused for a weed, there are no perks.… Expand

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9

RedMoonDec 3, 2012

This film was such an amazing and well written film. this has to be one of the best films of romance and drama of this year (in my point of view) for those who love a great chick flick this is the movie to see :)

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8

GreatbealloNov 29, 2012

I was a skeptic. I have been a fan of the book for a decade, and when I saw the previews for the film adaptation I cringed. I was wrong in my assumption that this movie would blow. It's a great film. The cast is perfect, and my heart felt forI was a skeptic. I have been a fan of the book for a decade, and when I saw the previews for the film adaptation I cringed. I was wrong in my assumption that this movie would blow. It's a great film. The cast is perfect, and my heart felt for the characters onscreen, just as it did each time I read the book. It's destined to be a cult classic, or perhaps something even more. It's meant for those of us who are sensitive, and it works wonderfully on that level. One of my favorite picks of the year.… Expand

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9

davomtz11Nov 28, 2012

This movie is just perfect. The music, the acting, the script, the plot, the way they decided to make it, just everything. Just in a few parts you can feel it a little slow, but in the end everything worth it. Emma and Logan have chemestryThis movie is just perfect. The music, the acting, the script, the plot, the way they decided to make it, just everything. Just in a few parts you can feel it a little slow, but in the end everything worth it. Emma and Logan have chemestry and that is seen. But by far, the one who just made it absolutely perfect, was Ezra Miller. He showed us he can make us hate him in "We Need To Talk About Kevin", but in this movie you just cannot love him.… Expand

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1

ScraperNov 24, 2012

People acting weird and spacy when they're high on weed is one of the biggest cliches of all time. Perks pretty much revisits every single teen cliche and painfully offers no new perspective. I guess I just came here to warn anyone thinkingPeople acting weird and spacy when they're high on weed is one of the biggest cliches of all time. Perks pretty much revisits every single teen cliche and painfully offers no new perspective. I guess I just came here to warn anyone thinking about wasting money on this stinkbomb that it will make your skull explode with boredom if you've ever seen or done anything ever. Gave it a one because I'm glad the gay kid from This Boy's Life is getting work.… Expand

3 of 9 users found this helpful36

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7

amboyOct 31, 2012

This is a broken back film--its first hour plus is a typical high school story about an in group of jocks and cheerleader types versus the sensitive or flamboyantly odd rebels; its last forty minutes is a case history about a severelyThis is a broken back film--its first hour plus is a typical high school story about an in group of jocks and cheerleader types versus the sensitive or flamboyantly odd rebels; its last forty minutes is a case history about a severely disturbed young man and the beginnings of his cure. The main reason to see it is a young actor named Logan Lerman who gives an astounding performance. He has the combination of vulnerability, intelligence, and tensile strength that Toby Maguire has, and he makes the movie.… Expand

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9

LetzTalkMoveezOct 21, 2012

It's often quite hilarious while also hard-hitting, heartfelt, visually stunning, and completely engaging - the most honest, genuine John Hughes movie that John Hughes never made, seemingly pieced together (almost perfectly) with hot tipsIt's often quite hilarious while also hard-hitting, heartfelt, visually stunning, and completely engaging - the most honest, genuine John Hughes movie that John Hughes never made, seemingly pieced together (almost perfectly) with hot tips from big names in the indie spotlight.… Expand

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8

jnova80Oct 17, 2012

Going into this film I was a little hesitant by some people calling it "The Breakfast Club for a new generation". Not that I have a problem with that film, it's a classic, I just can't stand it when people try to compare new films to classicsGoing into this film I was a little hesitant by some people calling it "The Breakfast Club for a new generation". Not that I have a problem with that film, it's a classic, I just can't stand it when people try to compare new films to classics just because of a few similarities. But after seeing Perks I felt that both films have a lot in common. I think it's very easy to connect with the main character, especially if you weren't one of the "cool" kids in high school. You really feel for this guy and everything he's going through. It definitely helps that the author of the book is also the director of this film. Perks is worth checking out.… Expand

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0

mako_psyOct 17, 2012

The problem with this movie is that there isn't a single likeable character throughout the whole of it. The entire movie is a cringe-fest, with quotes like "don't you just love old music" and "everything sounds better on vinyl" at every givenThe problem with this movie is that there isn't a single likeable character throughout the whole of it. The entire movie is a cringe-fest, with quotes like "don't you just love old music" and "everything sounds better on vinyl" at every given opportunity, as if the writers were somehow trying to relate to the sort of hipsters that plaster their walls with The Beatles posters and think they're awesome for being such "individuals." Not even Emma Watson could make you want to watch this, as she plays an obnoxious and totally unrealistic free spirit movie cliche. Essentially, the movie is just an endless reel of pretend quirkyness, lackluster narration, and an extremely slow developing plot. The only people who would like this movie, are the sort of people that wear black horn-rimmed glasses and pretend the characters in this movie are oh-so relateable to their quirky and "unique" nature. It's awful, and if you thought Emma Watson was annoying in the trailer when she stands up in the back of that car, then you'll hate the rest of the characters. Oh, and Paul Rudd is only in about 3 or 4 scenes, so don't let his casting be an influence in your decision to see this terrible movie.… Expand

6 of 34 users found this helpful628

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9

psunshine87Oct 14, 2012

"And in this moment I swear, we are infinite."

Charlie (Lerman) is a wallflower. About to start his first day of high school he begins writing letters to an unknown "friend," unleashing his fears and worries, most of which can be summed"And in this moment I swear, we are infinite."

Charlie (Lerman) is a wallflower. About to start his first day of high school he begins writing letters to an unknown "friend," unleashing his fears and worries, most of which can be summed up with the revelation that the only people he's spoken to all summer are his family. In addition to being a wallflower, Charlie is also a person with no friends. That all changes when Charlie meets two seniors, Patrick (Miller) and Sam (Watson), who invite him into their group of friends. Each member, like Charlie, is eccentric and has their own slew of issues, with The Perks of Being a Wallflower detailing the way in which they come to deal with at least some of them.

Perks is so much more than your typical coming of age drama or teen romance. It's a dark film, based on a dark book, and nicely handles the many themes present within it. I don't really want to go into the details too much, because I think if I did I would risk spoiling the movie, but I will say that while Perks deals with typical high school issues - school, fitting in, first love, etc - it also deals with much more adult issues - death and abuse being the big ones. Each of the younger characters is struggling to figure themselves out, be they a major character or a more minor one. At first it's a bit hard to realize this, that even the "popular" kids - portrayed primarily through Charlie's elder sister, Candace (Nina Dobrev), and football player Brad (Johnny Simmons) - are struggling to figure themselves out, but by the end of the movie it's clear that they're all in the same position, even if they haven't all been through the same things.

The thing that really makes this movie great, however, is the acting in itself. There's kind of two divisions in this movie; the group that gets more focus and the group that is more sidelined - this can also be seen as Charlie's friends versus Charlie's family. Lerman portrays his role absolutely perfectly. I read an interview of Chbosky's where he said "It… Expand

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10

ColleenIamOct 6, 2012

This movie was even more amazing than the book. It couldn't not have been a better decision to have the author direct the movie. It followed the book immensely well and captured the feeling of wonder you get when you read the book. ItThis movie was even more amazing than the book. It couldn't not have been a better decision to have the author direct the movie. It followed the book immensely well and captured the feeling of wonder you get when you read the book. It reminded me how great and how horrible high school was. It was great to see such a powerful movie made about a fellow 'wallflower.' Humor has perfect timing and benefited the dialogue. Overall an amazing movie I will not soon forget.… Expand

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7

jlpjonOct 5, 2012

Stephen Chbosky's cutesy coming-of-age tale maintains an excellent balance of emotion and entertainment. The film's characters are well-rounded and unpredictable, and its loveable high-school vibe provides moments of pleasant recognitionStephen Chbosky's cutesy coming-of-age tale maintains an excellent balance of emotion and entertainment. The film's characters are well-rounded and unpredictable, and its loveable high-school vibe provides moments of pleasant recognition without diving head-first into overfamiliar teen cliches. Logan Lerman is superb as intriguing introvert Charlie and unconvincing Americanisms aside, Emma Watson is radiant as Sam, proving she has what it takes to break free of typecasting. Chbosky's film tries a little too hard in its sentimentality to move and inspire viewers, yet its terrific soundtrack and earnest screenplay ensure that his character-driven drama both entertains and leaves its mark on the mind.… Expand

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8

TheFilmGuruOct 4, 2012

Brilliant film, funny uplifting and a real feel good heart warmer.

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6

ReelGSep 30, 2012

Check out the opinions of two hip old-school Hollywood veterans
they have some interesting things to say about Perks of Being a Wallflower
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yFg_mAcXXvU

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9

akrasiaSep 29, 2012

The Perks of Being a Wallflower is a great coming of age film. Those that have read the book will not be disappointed (I wasn't and I've read this book more than I can count.) Stephen Chbosky makes obvious cuts where needed to make the filmThe Perks of Being a Wallflower is a great coming of age film. Those that have read the book will not be disappointed (I wasn't and I've read this book more than I can count.) Stephen Chbosky makes obvious cuts where needed to make the film flow more consistently but still hits all the major plot points within the book. Emma Watson and Logan Lerman do a great job portraying these characters. Logan Lerman blew me away in his best performance yet. As many others have said, this film will be a cult classic for those who haven't read the book Those who have will be glad they saw the film to really appreciate Chbosky's story in all forms of art.… Expand

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9

Landon012Sep 29, 2012

This review contains spoilers, click expand to view. Wow this movie was amazing! It captures what's its like to be a freshman in high school. About trying to fit in and enjoy life! Charlie(main character) is a freshman that had a rough childhood and recently his best friend kills himself. He's lonely. Then he meets Sam & Patrick(Sam's step brother) are 2 seniors that take him under their wing and accept him for who he is. Charlie eventually falls for Sam which is his first crush. The movie shows how their relationship unfolds throughout the film. This movie isn't your typical high school movie. Anyone can relate to this movie which makes it so great. Go see it! You definitely won't be disappointed.… Expand

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10

illusiognarlySep 27, 2012

infinite... that's what this movie will be. A new cult classic! Charlies journey to find himself is a wonderful uplifting struggle against the days of high school i was instantly transported to the days i both hated and loved. Go see it withinfinite... that's what this movie will be. A new cult classic! Charlies journey to find himself is a wonderful uplifting struggle against the days of high school i was instantly transported to the days i both hated and loved. Go see it with a good friend… Expand

11 of 15 users found this helpful114

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9

MarcDoyleSep 23, 2012

The trailer makes this movie look like a quirky and light teen flick a la Juno, but it's a serious movie that deals with important issues elegantly. The writer/director introduced the film to my theater, which, to my surprise, included aboutThe trailer makes this movie look like a quirky and light teen flick a la Juno, but it's a serious movie that deals with important issues elegantly. The writer/director introduced the film to my theater, which, to my surprise, included about 50 younger people who had read his book. I had no idea it was so popular. I can see this movie having a similar appeal to teenagers to today that a film like Dead Poets Society had for my generation. Emma Watson and Ezra Miller are outstanding, and the supporting actors including Melanie Lynskey and Paul Rudd are perfectly cast. It's one of the better movies I've seen this year.… Expand

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7

MegWhiteleySep 21, 2012

The new Emma Watson and Logan Lerman movie, The Perks of Being a Wallflower, the movies is really cool, great, emotive, and have much interesting elements, can have some mistakes, but the performances and the development of the story areThe new Emma Watson and Logan Lerman movie, The Perks of Being a Wallflower, the movies is really cool, great, emotive, and have much interesting elements, can have some mistakes, but the performances and the development of the story are really awesome.… Expand

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The Perks of Being a Wallflower

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