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American Teen

(No longer in theaters)

Rating: PG-13 — for some strong language, sexual material, some drinking and brief smoking-all involving teens
Director: Nanette Burstein Cast: Hannah Bailey, Colin Clemens, Megan Krizmanich, Mitch Reinholt, Jake Tusing
Running Time: 101 minutes
Reader Rating: Write a Review

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Genre

Documentary

Producer

Nanette Burstein, Jordan Roberts, Eli Gonda, Chris Huddleston

Distributor

Paramount Vantage

Release Date

Jul 25, 2008

Release Notes

NY/LA

Official Website

www.americanteenthemovie.com

Review

American Teen is the antithesis of The Order of Myths: It overtly ridicules the status quoï¿½then reaffirms it. Maybe this will be the big crossover doc, the hit that’s a hit because it reinforces everything we knew going in. The director, Nanette Burstein, has chosen five teens in Warsaw, Indiana, to illustrate the high-school caste system and the general callousness of teens (big newsï¿½when The Breakfast Club came out). You get the geek, the nerdy (but pretty) misfit girl, the jock hobbled by parental expectations, the hunk, and the rich blonde bitch. The blonde bitch turns out to be more human than we thoughtï¿½but still a bitch. Everyone else is just what they seem. The movie does get under your skin (the tremulous misfit girl, Hannah, might be a breakout role model), but the way it has been put together reminds me of those animal shows where the crew nudges the gazelles in the direction of the lions with multiple cameras standing by. — David Edelstein