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The Perks of Being a Wallflower

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“The Perks of Being a Wallflower” stars Logan Lerman and Emma Watson as high school students who help each other cope with very grown-up problems.

There are some people out there who loved high school and claim those years to be the best of their lives, but this movie isn’t about them. “The Perks of Being a Wallflower” is for those of us who remember the awful lunchtime trek through the cafeteria, searching for a friend to sit with and finding none in sight.

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“Wallflower” is based on the popular book by Stephen Chbosky, who in turn adapted the screenplay and directed so no one can accuse him of NOT caring about the original material. It’s about Charlie, an awkward high school freshman who is taken in by some charismatic seniors, Sam & Patrick. Sam is played by Emma Watson, who does a fantastic job of striking Hermione from our memories, and Ezra Miller proves to be a break-out star as Patrick.

It seems that every kid who goes to Charlie’s high school is dealing with some major problem, from bullying to mental illness so it gets pretty melodramatic. “Wallflower” is like watching something John Hughes made when he was really, REALLY depressed. The kids cope through varying degrees of humor though so it also has some surprisingly funny moments. “Wallflower” is helped along by a strong supporting cast, including Paul Rudd, Kate Walsh and Dylan McDermott, but the kids are what truly make this movie shine.

Chbosky isn’t quite able to cover all of his material, like the death of an important friend is barely mentioned, but he does an expert job of showing us the isolation as well as golden moments of high school, and that’s why I’m giving “The Perks of Being a Wallflower” an A-.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aog8680PVmU