The Perks Of Being A Wallflower

The intense and sometimes terrifying emotions of adolescence, so easily forgotten by adults, are revived, with thoughtfulness and deep affection in The Perks of Being A Wallflower, in which writer and director Stephen Chbosky adapts his own hit young adult novel. It's only Chbosky's second feature, and his first with any kind of real budget, but he navigates the treacherous terrain of altering his own novel quite well. At the very least, he picked a damn-near-perfect cast, which in a movie about the deep feelings and pains of growing up, is more than half the battle.

As the titular wallflower Charlie, Logan Lerman is a little more blank and mannered than the character ought to be, but he's more than balanced out by two terrific co-stars-- Harry Potter alum Emma Watson as ultimate cool-girl-crush Sam, and especially We Need To Talk About Kevin's Ezra Miller as her vivacious brother Patrick. Charlie befriends both Sam and Patrick early on in his freshman year of high school, where he's particularly vulnerable after the suicide of his only real friend from middle school. Sam and Patrick, who call their gang of friends the "island of misfit toys," do all kinds of silly and cool high-school things, like organizing a Rocky Horror live show, going to all the dingy and most interesting parties, or standing on the bed of a truck while driving way too fast through Pittsburgh's Fort Pitt tunnel.

Being the kind of high school story that spans an entire year, Perks has a rangy and loose narrative, tied together by Charlie's perspective and his occasionally deteriorating mental state. We see his nameless parents (Dylan McDermott and Kate Walsh) as well-meaning but distant, his popular sister (Nina Dobrev) as an occasionally exasperated but loving caretaker, and in flashbacks his beloved Aunt Helen (Melanie Lynskey), whose death in a car accident is just one of the many things that haunts Charlie about his short life. Charlie is a deeply internal character, and so passive he gets in a relationship with the bossy Mary Elizabeth (the great Mae Whitman) essentially against his will, and can make for a frustrating window into this world, especially near the end of the film when the story takes a sharp turn into Charlie's own mental struggles. With Lerman punching a little above his weight class, and Chbosky an able but not outstanding director, the film's occasional jumps into melodrama doesn't quite ring true, and expose the fact that the movie, while quite good, can't drive through to its own heart the way the book did.

But there are also indelible moments spread throughout the film, like Sam and Patrick's self consciously showy dance in the school gym, the "infinite" drive through the tunnel, or the cafeteria fight after Patrick confronts the football player (Johnny Simmons) he had been dating in secret. Especially with the electric Miller playing him, Patrick is the movie's best contribution to the ranks of cinematic high schoolers, openly gay and popular in that way of wild outsiders, brazen and confident but a little broken too. No one can match him when he's onscreen, even with such a strong cast behind him, but Chbosky knows this, and lets the film's best scenes play out powerfully enough that they make up for what's weaker.

The Perks of Being A Wallflower might not become as iconic as the best-selling book, but its insights into the inner lives of teenagers remain as affecting and rare as they were when the novel was published 10 years ago. Chbosky can't reinvent the characters he created for the screen, but he's definitely done right by them.

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George Clooney in "The Descendants": Being Mr. Mom Isn't Easy

Thelma Adams is a New York Film Critics Circle member and the author of "Playdate," a novel.Remember the famous line about Fred Astaire and Ginger Rogers, "Sure he was great, but don't forget Ginger Rogers did everything he did backwards ... and in high heels"? Keep that in mind while enjoying Alexander Payne's The Descendants, in which disaffected dad George Clooney finds himself by sliding into his wife's shoes.

Even as the balance between working parents gradually shifts in America, and co-parenting becomes the hard-won norm, on the screen it tends to be a big deal when mom disappears and suddenly dad has to tie on her apron. Mom sacrifices her life to awaken dad's inner parent -- it's so Bambi!

Clive Owen did the single-parent weepy The Boys Are Back; Steve Carell touchingly separated laundry in Dan in Real Life; and just in time for Christmas, Matt Damon does a similar dance in We Bought a Zoo. In each case, a mom's death or coma forces the hero to cast aside his selfish ways, belatedly appreciate the major task mothering is and, ultimately, evolve into responsible adulthood.

As much as I adore The Descendants, it amuses me that male-driven Hollywood believes motherhood has more dramatic impact when presented by a man. What's funny, given how few strong leading roles there are for women, is that it's front-page news when an actor like perennial bachelor Clooney has to put the kids to bed at night -- and realizes that being a mother isn't easy. Who knew?

In movies, parenthood often equals motherhood. And, in an unfortunate twist, this focus continues to marginalize the mothers while making a hero of the "Mr. Mom" who rises to the occasion. It's like the old whine that when dad stays home with the kids it's "babysitting," and when mom does it, that's her job and anything less is suspect.

Clooney's character, Matt King, doesn't even spend time "babysitting." While his comatose spouse slips away following a water-skiing accident, this charming but selfish Hawaiian lawyer must reconnect with his two daughters. Meanwhile, the clock is ticking on his decision to sell a tract of family-owned Hawaiian paradise to developers.

As the movie opens, Matt is a paper-shuffler in paradise; he sees the sky and palm trees outside his office window, but he's disconnected from the beauty. Matt's also estranged from his family. But with his wife on life support, Matt suddenly finds himself solely responsible for their two daughters, Alexandra (Shailene Woodley) and Scottie (Amara Miller).

King's awkward in this new role. When he says he was "the backup parent," there's a bit of pride there, like a kid who's gotten someone else to do his homework. But it's left him ill-prepared when the girls "test" their father -- they don't automatically do what they're told. Hello: That's what kids do; they don't need a mom-in-a-coma to know their roles. They need to be parented, and since Matt's been the emotionally unavailable father, they also need to be nurtured (read: mothered) through the kind of crisis that either galvanizes or cripples a family.

Hard-partying Alexandra calls her father out in that way teens have: It may be true that no one sees us more truly, or more unsparingly, than our teenage children. And so Alex drops a bomb: She'd caught Mom cheating before the accident. That news gets Matt's attention and sets him on a path toward real change. Perhaps, unconsciously, Alexandra knows that if she doesn't wake her father up, she'll be saddled with the mother's role.

After the revelation, jealousy motivates Matt. Bereaved and enraged, Matt tries to identify and confront his rival. It's a useless journey, but Matt brings his daughters along. Sure, he would have been better off taking them to a ballgame, or to see The Help, but at least they have a unified mission. Gradually, by acting together, they bond and begin to build an honest relationship. A genuine father is born. In Hollywood at least (though not under my roof), this committed male parent is still a novelty.
By being forced to assume the role of mother in his wife's absence, Matt gradually evolves. His character moves from being contentedly absent to joyfully present. He gains empathy and compassion. This change also returns him to nature -- he's no longer willing to let profit drive his decision to sell his family birthright to a developer.

It's as if, in our society, until a man takes on that load, until he stays home and shepherds the kids, the simple everyday achievement lacks dramatic weight. It's an irony that Ginger Rogers, dancing backwards, would have appreciated. 

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Q&A - Cameron Diaz Talks Timberlake, Tough Times for Hot Chicks, and Being the Bad Teacher

Sean is a senior critic for Filmcritic.com.

What with budget cuts, staff layoffs, and falling test scores, our nation's public-school system had enough problems before Cameron Diaz's Bad Teacher arrived on the scene. The jaded blonde vixen takes on an optimistic principal (John Michael Higgins), a horny gym teacher (Jason Segel), and an irrationally clean-cut middle-school instructor (Justin Timberlake) in the deranged black comedy from Walk Hard director Jake Kasdan. Before the school bell rang, Diaz spoke to FilmCritic.com about playing awful characters, finding sugar daddies, and the teacher who messed with her as a little kid.

Q: I can't think of the last time you've actually played such an unlikeable character. Is there a freedom that comes with playing someone this awful?

A: Totally. I mean, there's no reason to try and get anybody to like her. [Laughs] She doesn't even like herself. Clearly! Truthfully, she doesn't like anything, and that was very liberating. You don't have to put out any sunshine for it.

Q: But then your character is surrounded with impossibly optimistic characters as a way to balance the tone and find the humor of the situation.

A: Right; exactly. And that's the wonderful thing about the spirit of J.A.M.S., or John Adams Middle School, where I teach. That was their whole thing -- being as enthusiastic as possible -- and my character, Elizabeth, was just thinking, "Are you kidding me? This is hell for me. This is where I come to sleep. Everybody, be quiet! I am busy!" [Laughs]

Q: Almost everyone in the cast has a distinct memory of an experience with a teacher who made them feel uncomfortable and who has really stuck with them. Do you have such a memory?

A: I do. I had a teacher who wasn't very nice to me. She didn't like me, and she'd try to call me out in class for nothing, really. She'd also try to give me life lessons.

Q: Because they really stick at that age.

A: Right. I was just sort of, "Woman, what are you talking about?" But she was trying to do it more as a way of trying to embarrass me. Or maybe that's just what it felt like when I was that age. But I also grew up with parents who treated me like a person, like an actual human being instead of just a kid. So when I met this teacher, it actually was like, "Really? You are going to talk to me like that?"

Q: I also found it interesting that you played Elizabeth like the ultimate con artist, and the only time she woke from her uninterested haze was when she was able to work a con on some unsuspecting naïve teacher.

A: Oh, well, that was the best part about her because that was the only effort she ever makes. I look at Elizabeth as being in a time of economic crisis. She's looking for a man who can take care of her, and there aren't that many guys like that who exist anymore.

Q: Certainly not in the education field.

A: Well, definitely not in education. [Laughs] But it used to be easier for hot girls to find someone who would give you a credit card and a car and let you stay in their fancy house. It doesn't happen that often anymore. So she is really having to work. Times are tough. She still has to work at school. So when she suddenly sees an opportunity to mess with people in the place where she feels captive, she lights up, gets ready, and becomes the evil person she was meant to be.

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