The Perks of Being a Wallflower
Review by Diehl40
8/8/15
Release date: 2012
Directed by:
Stephen Chbosky

Screenplay:
Stephen Chbosky


Starring:
Logan Lerman
Emma Watson
Ezra Miller
Mae Whitman
Paul Rudd
Nina Dobrev

Based on the successful novel by Stephen Chbosky this film tells the story of Charlie (Lerman), a fifteen year old who wants to turn his life around. He is a shy and troubled teenager with a lot of emotional baggage. He is starting high school and is seeking to meet new friends. He meets Sam (Watson) and Patrick (Miller) who in turn introduce him to their circle of friends, the self-described inhabitants of the “island of misfit toys”. His friends open the doors for Charlie to enter the school of hard knocks. He is introduced to what it means to be a friend, experiencing drugs, his first date, his first relationship, his first love, and finally confronting some true adversity from his past. Chbosky achieves this all with a warm genuine touch that prevents the movie from slipping into another sappy teenage experience movie.
The acting was very good. The three principle actors (Lerman, Watson and Miller) were great in their respective roles. This film added some depth on the roster with great performances by Whitman, Dobrev, Rudd, and company. I did some reading after I watched this film and it seems that Chbosky had a great grasp on the kind of problems that someone in Charlie’s position would be facing. For a movie that is rated PG-13 it deals with some pretty heavy hitting issues. While the film would seem to appeal to a much wider audience than the young adult audience the novel was written for, it would not quite achieve universal appeal. I would rate this movie as a 4.5 out of a possible 5. I am looking forward to checking out Chbosky’s next effort.