The Perks
The Perks Of Being A Wallflower | Stephen Chbosky
Comedy-drama/Drama | PG-13 | 1h 45m
The Perks of Being a Wallflower is the type of film that will make you laugh and then go and make you cry just 5 minutes later but still end up leaving you with an uplifting feeling. This cliché high school coming-of-age film captures all that pitfalls and plateaus of adolescence. The 2012 film, directed by Stephen Chbosky, is based off the 1999 novel also written by Chbosky. The movie is narrated by Charlie (Logan Lerman), an introverted high school freshman who struggles with issues of mental health. Who quickly gets befriended by a group of punk-rock seniors that introduce him to being a wallflower (not to mention the parties, drugs, alcohol and sex).
Stephen Chbosky is an American novelist, screenwriter and film director. From writing the book The Perks of Being a Wallflower and directing its film 13 years later, Chbosky has written the screen play for Rent, a 2005 musical film, and for the 2017 live-action remake of Beauty and the Beast. Most recently he directed the 2017 drama Wonder, based on the 2002 novel written by R. J. Palacio. He is also claimed to be the screenwriter and director of Disney’s upcoming film Prince Charming, a continuation of Disney’s live-action reboot phase.
The film touches on many issues of mental health, sexual abuse, homosexuality, and even teen pregnancy. All of which are serious issues in today’s society. The lack of discussion about mental health and sexual abuse are causing an increase in the number of people that experience these things. Chbosky touches on the topic of homosexuality by exaggerating 2 of the most common stereotypes of gay men. You have your slightly effeminate, flamboyant gay character and you have his secret love interest, the popular jock who is still in the closet due to his fear of how his father (and his friends) will react.
Casting could not have been better, every single actor/actress in this film was perfect for their part. It seems as though Logan Lerman has become very good at playing the troubled teen as we see not only in this film but also in the Percy Jackson films, and the romance film Stuck in Love. And of course, once again Emma Watson does an excellent job (as if we ever doubted it). Watson has proved to be a very diverse actress and I would still argue that this is true after watching her in this film. And although the love connection between Lerman’s and Watson’s characters is predictable, you still sit questioning whether it’ll truly happen for Charlie through almost the entire film.
If you are enjoy this film, The Perks of Being a Wallflower then I would also recommend the films It’s Kind of a Funny Story (starring Keir Gilchrist & Emma Roberts), The Spectacular Now (starring Miles Teller & Shailene Woodley), The Fault in our Stars (starring Shailene Woodley & Ansel Elgort) or the classic The Breakfast Club (starring Molly Ringwald and Judd Nelson). All of these films are popular young adult fiction stories and comedy-dramas. Clearly by the fact that The Breakfast Club is listed above you can tell that these types of films have been around for decades.
I cannot speak highly enough of this film. As a young teenager watching this I connected instantly. Although I may not have had all the same traumatic experiences that Charlie faced through his lifetime, I closely related to having depression and a sort of PTSD to his sexual abuse. It is almost as though you are living the movie and each time we learn something new and personal about a character we become closer to them. I will always be grateful to Stephen Chbosky for this gift that is The Perks of Being a Wallflower.
