MEOW! Presents: THE (Many, Many, Many MANY) PERKS OF BEING A WALLFLOWER Movie Review!

I feel infinite.

October 17th, 2012

MEOW!

The Perks of Being a Wallflower is an experience. No, not just a film. An. Experience. I can't emphasize those two words enough. You will not say to your friends "Ooh, my favorite scene is...," or "Hey, remember that line when he/she said...," or...no. You will feel as if you've spent a near-two hours in a universe that can exist anywhere at anytime. You will feel as if you've spent a near-two hours with characters that you've come to fall in love with. Above all else, you will feel as if you've spent a near-two hours seeing the world through another's eyes, and through it all, you may come out of the theater as a changed man. Or woman. Or wallflower.

Whatever the case, you will feel for Charlie's sad, sad tale. No, we're not talking about Charlie Bucket here. This sad tale, written and directed by Stephen Chbosky--the author of the novel of the same name--focuses on Charlie (Insert your own last name here--an astonishing turn by Logan Lerman), who is an incoming freshman at his new school, and it is extremely difficult for him to make friends on the first day. His teacher, however, Mr. Anderson (Brilliantly subtle performance by Paul Rudd), believes that "if you can make friends on the first day of school, you'll be OK." Charlie's first friend happens to be him, of course, which he finds "very depressing." Thankfully, Charlie starts to make friends at a high school football game, and they just happen to be two seniors. One of them is a girl named Sam (Insert your own last name here--Wonderfully, WONDERFULLY portrayed by Hermione Granger), and another is her gay step-brother Patrick (Insert your own last name here--Thank you, Ezra Miller, for respecting the name Patrick without turning it into a joke).

Both characters open up their emotions to Charlie. Patrick is in a secret relationship with football quaterback Brad (Johnny Simmons), and if anyone finds out, especially Brad's father, Brad would be beaten up, and he would once again conform to society's rules. Sam, on the other hand, yearns to be accepted to Penn State University, but needs help from Charlie to boost up her SAT scores (SAT--Saturday Afternoon Tedium). She and Charlie also start to develop feelings for each other, which makes it all the more difficult as a.) Sam is in a relationship with her college boyfriend Craig (Reece Thompson), and b.) Charlie starts up a relationship with one of Sam's closest friends, Mary Elizabeth (Mae Whitman).

Oh...and truth or dare is involved in one of the most important scenes in the film. Anybody involved in a bonfire party I attended last summer will get the most out of that scene.

Oh, and I mentioned that Charlie's is a 'sad, sad tale,' didn't I? It sure is. How sad it is I will not spoil here, except to say that there is a twist in this film that comes so unexpected, so surprising, and so brave, that you may need to give it a second view to see how it all plays out within the story. The film seems to go straightforward in the first 2/3rds, and at those moments, they are absolutely delightful and involving. There are some genuine moments of humor, such as when Patrick is able to recieve a passing grade in Wood Shop, a class that he kept on failing during his past three years in high school ("If you fail me, I'll be here next semester." --cut to-- "I'M BELOW AVERAGE!"). There are also some moments, ESPECIALLY the scenes with Charlie and Sam, that are so gut-wrenching and true to its heart ("We accept the love we think we deserve."), that if you don't feel anything during those moments, you could very well be a robot from outer space who never learned life lessons from a little boy...ya know, unlike The Iron Giant?  Then, once the third act hits, it blind-sides you, and becomes something to eventually experience all over again.

And I must emphasize this once more that this is, first and foremost, an. Experience. Film critics have their own criteria on what the word experience can mean. Mine is this: If you can cast any type of spell on me from the beginning to the end of a picture, and have me walking out of the theater as a changed man, you would have crafted a genuine cinematic experience that I can pass on to my friends and family. Not since HUGO have I felt like I've been transported to a world where anything is possible, and how that journey can lead me to become a better person in the future. Only time will tell if this film will live up to the extraordinary HUGO once I experience it again. For now, life goes on beautifully, as I feel what Charlie felt as he went through that oh-so-achingly beautiful tunnel: infinite.

Wow. Infinite. That is a funny word. Milkshake is a funny word, too.

Hands down, this is one of the best films of this or any other year, and one of the greatest cinematic experiences I've ever had. Please do me a favor and see it this weekend so that we don't have to endure a Paranormal Activity 5.

Until next time,

MEOW!

And because you've read my review, you've earned yourself a talking milkshake! Congratulations!