The Perks of Being a Wallflower

The Perks of Being a Wallflower, directed and written by Stephen Chbosky, based on his novel, is earnest and heartfelt, but really targeted for a certain kind of teenager. I probably would have liked it a lot more when I was seventeen, but now I see the earmarks to teenage wish fulfillment. I have no idea on what Chbosky was like as a kid, but I have to imagine this is based on a situation he knew about, and by writing a book he made it come out all right in the end.

Set in the early '80s (to judge by the music and the size of the portable phones) in Pittsburgh, the film centers around Charlie (Logan Lerman), who has just started high school. Vague comments are made about his stay in a hospital, and he keeps flashing back to memories of his beloved aunt, who was killed in a car accident. He has no friends until he meets Patrick (Ezra Miller), a senior who happens to be gay. He then enters Patrick's circle of arty oddballs, foremost Sam (Emma Watson) who he falls in love with. But Sam, who has a bit of reputation, goes for a pretentious college guy.

The film follows this trio through the school year. They are loyal to each other and kind of don't give a shit about what other kids think of them. They act out scenes at the Rocky Horror Picture Show screenings, and Sam likes to stand in the back of a pickup truck as it zooms through a tunnel.

"My life is an After School Special," Patrick says at one point, and this film isn't far off that categorization. Patrick is in love with a football player who refuses to acknowledge his homosexuality, even though he and Patrick get it on. Lerman ends up dating another girl in the group (Mae Whitman), even though he is in love with Watson, and makes a shocking faux pas during a game of truth or dare. And there is the cliche of the understanding English teacher (Paul Rudd), who gives Lerman books like Catcher in the Rye and On the Road. I did like one bit of wisdom from Rudd, when Lerman asks why nice people date the wrong people. "We accept the love we think we deserve," is his answer.

As a movie for teens, The Perks of Being a Wallflower is exceedingly well done. For a novelist, Chbosky shows a sure directorial hand, and the script is witty and tender. The performances are all good. But for adults that can look back on their own teenage years, especially if they were in the artsy-fartsy clique, this all plays like a fantasy. Of course we boys all had a girl like Sam we pined over, and we could only dream that she acted towards Charlie the way we wanted her to.