Tagline:
We accept the love we think we deserve.

Wide Release Date:
September 21, 2012

Directed by:
Stephen Chbosky
Screenplay by:
Stephen Chbosky
Based on the Novel by:
Stephen Chbosky
Produced by:
Lianne Halfon, Russell Smith, John Malkovich

Starring:
Logan Lerman
Emma Watson
Ezra Miller
Mae Whitman
Kate Walsh
Dylan McDermott
Joan Cusack
Paul Rudd

PREGAME THOUGHTS

I don’t know much about this movie. Based on a book from 1999, the film must have been pretty hyped when it came out because I remember hearing this name everywhere. I had assumed it was some feelgood piece of trash. It wasn’t until later that I realized that the hype was almost certainly around Emma Watson in a starring role separate from the Harry Potter franchise.

I’m going into this expecting a poignant coming-of-age story that will make me feel a slurry of emotions once I’m finished watching it, and I don’t find anything at all wrong with that. I’m also expecting a great performance by Emma Watson slightly tainted by a barely passable American accent. I’ll be keeping a close ear on that one.

Oi, guv’nor! Oi’m from Ameh-ica!

THE 450(ish)-WORD SYNOPSIS

Logan Lerman, who has one of the worst names I’ve ever heard, plays clinically depressed teenager Charlie Kelmeckis. The year is 1991, Charlie has just been discharged from a mental health facility, and, even though Lerman was 20 years old at this time, he’s playing a kid about to enter his freshman year of high school! He’s a little loser, getting picked on and making no friends except Paul Rudd, his Paul Rudd-like English teacher. He keeps having flashbacks of his Aunt Helen and her death on his 7th birthday.

After witnessing high school senior, and known social pariah, Patrick (Ezra Miller) hamming it up during shop class, Charlie decides that he might have a kindred spirit on his hands. He chats him up during a football, where he also meets Patrick’s half-sister Sam (Emma Watson). They get friendly, they go to homecoming, Charlie gets invited to a party where he eats weed brownies and his inhibitions melt away. Charlie officially joins Patrick and Sam’s social circle with welcome arms. There’s a part where the kids listen to David Bowie’s “Heroes” while driving and Sam stands up through the sunroof. There’s also a part where Charlie catches Patrick and the high school quarterback, Brad, making out. Charlie is cool with it and promises to keep it a secret.

Going forward, there are a lot of coming-of-age vignettes, both touching and sad. Charlie helps Sam study for the SATs. Charlie has never been kissed, so she kisses him. Charlie fills in for Sam’s boyfriend at the Rocky Horror Picture Show. Charlie enters a relationship with a member of the social circle, Mary Elizabeth (Mae Whitman), which is almost entirely one-sided. During a game of Truth or Dare, Charlie kisses Sam when dared to kiss the prettiest girl in the room, which alienates him from the group for a while. Brad gets his ass kicked by his dad after he was caught having sex with Patrick, which causes Brad and his friends to lash out at Patrick (and Charlie saves the day). Patrick is all fucked up from this and, in a moment of poor thinking, decides to kiss Charlie. Charlie doesn’t get upset at this, but Patrick feels awful about it and apologizes. Charlie is eventually forgiven for the Truth or Dare incident and everyone makes up. Sam and Charlie make out in her bedroom; they essentially fall in love.

They probably had to redo this scene 100 times just to make sure there wasn’t a single hint of disgust on Charlie’s face.

Once the summer is over and Sam goes away to college, Charlie falls back into a deep depression. He calls his sister and says some very alarming things to her. She calls the police, he’s whisked away to the hospital. There he learns that his Aunt Helen had sexually abused him. That right there is a lot to parse.

Later, feeling better, Sam visits from college and they take another drive while playing David Bowie’s “Heroes”. Charlie has never felt more alive.

TOM’S DISCUSSION CORNER

TOPIC 1 — The Perks of Being Accepted

I’ll admit that back in my high school days when I actually wanted friends (I’m only kind of exaggerating), seeing this movie would’ve probably changed my life for what would be, in retrospect, unrealistic expectations of teenage friendship. At least unrealistic for what I actually want. On paper, I love the idea of all these nerdy, uninhibited high school kids having the time of their lives with little self-consciousness and fear of ridicule. In practice, I do not possess to the ability to be entirely confident and outgoing. That’s why I have this blog.

What this movie romanticizes, and what teenage me would have romanticized, is the idea of going all-in on literally anything. I would have killed or died or kill THEN die to be that way. I would have loved a group of new friends help me get out of my shell. While the Rocky Horror Picture Show was nowhere near my interests, I loved seeing this kid care enough about a friend to help out. I mean, what wouldn’t you do for love, I suppose? Hell, I wish I could say I would’ve handled the Patrick kiss situation with as much decency and poise as Charlie did. At 13, I would’ve flipped the fuck out for a laundry list of reasons.

However, upon review, Charlie goes GREAT LENGTHS to fit into his social circle. He’s clearly a people pleaser. This is the part the resonated with me so heavily, because this is exactly the way I am. Had I run into a similar situation, I probably would have done anything to be accepted. You don’t really get the sense that this had happened in the movie, since Charlie seemed legitimately interested in being involved, but I could be wrong. The kid was depressed and he was alienated, and even though his disposition wasn’t frantic or off-putting, I suspect that he did a lot of stuff that he wasn’t entirely into.

As an added factual statement, the kid was in love with Hermione Granger. Who, of a similar age, wasn’t in love with Hermione Granger? I certainly was. I would’ve dressed in drag too just to get a kiss from her.

Wingardium Leviosa, indeed!

TOPIC 2 — I Liked This Movie a Lot

The aforementioned part about how this movie would’ve changed my life as a teenager, that part is true. This is exactly what I want from my coming-of-age movies: realistic character interactions involving young kids palling around, bittersweet and not over-the-top humor, characters not always being complete dicks to one another, and a warm plot. I like feeling good at the end. I like feeling like something very important happened. And I’m willing to accept unrealistic sappiness (like standing up in a truck as you go through a tunnel while listening to “Heroes”) as long as I’m already invested.

I wonder if, among those who like The Perks of Being a Wallflower different people identify with different characters. Most people will identify with Charlie, a lot will identify with Patrick, but are there people who really identify with Sam? Does she have enough depth besides “trying to get into college” or “love interest”? What about Paul Rudd? Are there any major nerd teachers who get off on identifying with Paul Rudd?

Right back at ya, Paul.

I definitely see myself as a Charlie, and I wouldn’t even mind going with the flow. That’s the kind of person I am anyway. I’m a people-pleaser to a fault, baby. You want to go the Rocky Horror Picture Show? I don’t give a shit. Let’s go. You want get decapitated standing up in a truck as you go through a tunnel? I’ll be your guest. You’re a dude who wants to kiss me? I’ll try not to make it awkward.

Anyway, I liked this movie a lot. I’ll have to rewatch in someday when I’m 50 years old and creepy.

IMDb TRIVIA FUNHOUSE!

In Entertainment Weekly, Emma Watson reported that she took the role because Stephen Chbosky told her that “Not only is this going to be one of the most important parts you play, you’re also going to have the summer of your life and meet some of your best friends.” She also reported that the claim came true.
This is obviously a complete fuck you to Harry Potter. Stephen Chbosky hates Harry Potter so much that he recruits Emma Watson for his movie, tells her it’s more important than Hermione, that it’s going to be more memorable than her role as Hermione, and that she’s going to meet better friends than Daniel Radcliffe and Rupert Grint. And she’s like “of course that’s all correct”. Who could blame her?

Finally, Christmas presents NOT from Harry and Ron.

Ezra Miller did their initial audition for the film over Skype, and they were so charismatic in the interview, that they were cast within five hours of the audition.
Right away, Ezra Miller seemed to me like an infinitely more interesting Adam Driver. That Adam Driver is more famous than Ezra Miller is an atrocity akin to when Pol Pot had thousands of babies smashed against a tree. Then again, their arrest record is pretty large, so, lmao, never mind.

In an interview with LAYouth.com, Stephen Chbosky said that he wrote the book for personal reasons, but reading the book’s customer reviews on Amazon.com made him realize that many people related to it.
You sometimes read about these writers who write a universal critically acclaimed story about anxiety, depression, coming-of-age, friendship, and love, and they’re like “I DIDN’T KNOW OTHER HUMAN BEINGS WOULD KNOW WHAT I’M TALKING ABOUT!” Do these people live in the world?

John Hughes originally bought the film rights with the intention to write and direct. He intended to make the film as a dark comedy with Shia LaBeouf set to play Charlie, Kirsten Dunst slated to play Sam, and Patrick Fugit cast as Patrick. Hughes’s sudden death stalled the project, as he’d not completed a script before his passing. This allowed the film to be revived, as an independent movie, with Stephen Chbosky returning to write and direct.
Thank God. Can you imagine that disaster? When Shia LaBeouf wasn’t busy smacking Kirsten Dunst around, he would be drinking flagons of moonshine and pelting Patrick Fugit with food from craft services.

Happy birthday, Mr. President!

IS IT WORTH A WATCH?

While The Perks of Being a Wallflower checked all my boxes, I wouldn’t recommend it to everyone. It’s a little bit obnoxious and hipster-y if you’re not an obnoxious hipster like me, but if you’re reading this and are in high school (yeah right) then I would heartily recommend it. I was already 25 when this came out, so it’s unfortunately past my time. THERE’S STILL HOPE FOR YOU.