directed by Jeffrey Blitz
This film will make you all reflect on your teenage times and the moment when you finally realised “oh, damn, I’m an adult now”. And if you’re still a teenager, perhaps this story will comfort you about what you’re going through. Personally, I don’t think this film is anyhow amazing, but it’s for sure interesting in its form and the problems it tackles. The main character, Hal Hefner (Reece Thompson), is a teenager from Plainsboro, New Jersey who has a problem with stuttering. Except that, he has a strange family situation, because his brother is a kleptomaniac, his father has left them and his mother is dating Hal’s friend’s father. So you can imagine it’s not easy for him. One day, he’s approached by Ginny Ryerson (Anna Kendrick), who’s the most active member of their school debate team. The girl insists on Hal joining them, despite his problems with stuttering. He tries to overcome his issue, but it’s horribly difficult for him to communicate in public. Hil and Ginny work together a lot and the boy starts having feelings for the girl. Unfortunately, it seems like Ginny isn’t that interested in her debate partner… And so on, and so on. If you think it’s another silly teenage film, I promise you it’s not. It just seems so. But in the end, you might actually be quite surprised. I’d say it’s a story for everyone, because we all have been or will be coming of age and watching cute romances where everything seems easy and the teenage problems are actually 1/10 of what we’ve had or will have seems even more depressive. Despite the fact that you might feel constant pity towards Hal, I guess that in the end you’ll find this production satisfying. Actually, the director, Jeffrey Blitz, used to be a stuttering teenager and you can see that this film is very personal. Generally, I’m glad when filmmakers focus on topics that are somehow socially important but haven’t been presented in the most useful way for the viewers, if I may put it this way. This story may inspire and comfort a lot of people, and I think it’s already a good reason to recommend it.
My ratings: 5.5/10
S.
I have nothing to watch 