One of the most honest and assured teen dramas in recent memory, writer/director Stephen Chbosky's The Perks of Being a Wallflower feels in many ways like vintage John Hughes , only infused with a bit more substance and transplanted to the mid-'90s. Filled with expressive, well-rounded characters, directed with restraint but remarkable attention to detail, and possessing a distinctive sense of time and place that evokes nostalgia without wallowing in it, the movie portrays the universal truth of adolescence in a manner that speaks to multiple generations and possesses all the hallmarks of a contemporary teen classic. Pittsburgh, PA: 1991. Smart and sensitive teen Charlie (Logan Lerman ) is still grieving his best friend's suicide as he prepares for his first day of high school. As Charlie navigates the hallways and witnesses the torment of the freshman class at the hands of the cavalier seniors, he attempts to keep a low profile in English class. However, he quickly catches the attention of his teacher Mr. Anderson (Paul Rudd ), who recognizes his passion for writing and literature. Eventually, Charlie works up the confidence to start a conversation with flamboyantly gay senior Patrick (Ezra Miller), who, along with his pretty stepsister Sam (Emma Watson), gradually begins to pull the sheepish freshman out of his shell and into their tightly knit social circle. But as Charlie's newfound companions prepare to graduate from high school, the memories of his best friend and a troubling event from his childhood weigh heavy on his conscience. And later, when Charlie commits a social faux pas that leaves him more isolated than ever before, his internal and external pressures threaten to become too much of a burden for one boy to carry. From the opening scene of The Perks of Being a Wallflower , as Charlie pens a heartfelt letter to a "friend," making vague references to spending time in a hospital and expressing hopes that he won't "get bad again," the film establishes a deeply personal tone that endears us to the genuinely likeable protagonist. Charlie may be socially awkward and unable to express himself effectively, but we recognize that he's an inherently good person whose complicated and tragic past makes it difficult for him to establish the typical social bonds. We've all known people like Charlie, and Chbosky pens the familiar character with the kind of careful attention to detail that gives him an added dimension missing from the vast majority of teen dramas. Remarkably, that writing talent not only extends to the key supporting characters of Patrick and Sam (both wonderfully played by Miller and Watson, respectively), but even to such peripheral figures as Mr. Anderson, closeted jock Brad (Johnny Simmons ), and angry Buddhist Mary Elizabeth (Mae Whitman ) as well, creating a fully realized world that anyone who has ever attended high school will surely relate to. Meanwhile, the talented Melanie Lynskey makes a lasting impression in a small but crucial role, as does Dylan McDermott in his portrayal of Charlie's gruff yet loving father. Despite all of this, it takes more than perceptive writing and solid performances to create a teen film with the power to affect more than just the demographic it portrays, and with the iconic (if not slightly heavy-handed) imagery of Patrick and Charlie cruising through a freeway tunnel in a pickup truck while Sam stands in the back, arms wide out, seemingly ready to embrace her uncertain future as David Bowie blasts out of the radio, Chbosky captures one of those elusive, transcendent moments that we all remember from our formative years. Accomplishing such a lofty goal without coming off as contrived or insipid is no simple task, but with a smart, skillfully constructed screenplay that treats its protagonists with genuine dignity and indelible performances by an accomplished cast, The Perks of Being a Wallflower is a deeply soulful drama that establishes its writer/director as a rising talent with an authentically compelling and distinctive voice.
The Perks of Being a Wallflower is part of an MTV Books series that targets teen-age readers. But it is more mature than most young adult literature and can be enjoyed by older readers as well. USA Today
A trite coming-of-age novel that could easily appeal to a YA readership, filmmaker Chbosky's debut broadcasts its intentions with the publisher's announcement that ads will run on MTV. Charlie, the wallflower of the title, goes through a veritable bath of bathos in his 10th grade year, 1991. The novel is formatted as a series of letters to an unnamed "friend," the first of which reveals the suicide of Charlie's pal Michael. Charlie's response valid enough is to cry. The crying soon gets out of hand, though in subsequent letters, his father, his aunt, his sister and his sister's boyfriend all become lachrymose. Charlie has the usual dire adolescent problems sex, drugs, the thuggish football team and they perplex him in the usual teen TV ways. He hangs out with a group of seniors, among whom are Patrick and Samantha. Patrick is gay, and Charlie learns about gay. Sam is pretty, and Charlie learns about heartbreak. Sam is, alas, going out with Craig. Charlie goes out with the uppity Mary Elizabeth. Patrick goes with Brad but breaks up with him when Brad's father discovers their relationship. Into these standard teenage issues Chbosky infuses a droning insistence on Charlie's supersensitive disposition. Charlie's English teacher and others have a disconcerting tendency to rhapsodize over Charlie's giftedness, which seems to consist of Charlie's unquestioning assimilation of the teacher's taste in books. In the end we learn the root of Charlie's psychological problems, and we confront, with him, the coming rigors of 11th grade, ever hopeful that he'll find a suitable girlfriend and increase his vocabulary.
Publishers Weekly - Publisher's Weekly
Gr 9 UpAn epistolary narrative cleverly places readers in the role of recipients of Charlies unfolding story of his freshman year in high school. From the beginning, Charlies identity as an outsider is credibly established. It was in the spring of the previous school year that his best friend committed suicide and now that his class has gone through a summer of change, the boy finds that he has drifted away from old friends. He finds a new and satisfying social set, however, made up of several high school seniors, bright bohemians with ego-bruising insights and, really, hearts of gold. These new friends make more sense to Charlie than his star football-playing older brother ever did and they are able to teach him about the realities of life that his older sister doesnt have the time to share with him. Grounded in a specific time (the 1991/92 academic year) and place (western Pennsylvania), Charlie, his friends, and family are palpably real. His grandfather is an embarrassing bigot; his new best friend is gay; his sister must resolve her pregnancy without her boyfriends support. Charlie develops from an observant wallflower into his own man of action, and, with the help of a therapist, he begins to face the sexual abuse he had experienced as a child. This report on his life will engage teen readers for years to come.Francisca Goldsmith, Berkeley Public Library, CA Copyright 1999 Cahners Business Information.
Aspiring filmmaker/first-novelist Chbosky adds an upbeat ending to a tale of teenaged angst-the right combination of realism and uplift to allow it on high school reading lists, though some might object to the sexuality, drinking, and dope-smoking. More sophisticated readers might object to the rip-off of Salinger, though Chbosky pays homage by having his protagonist read Catcher in the Rye .
Like Holden, Charlie oozes sincerity, rails against celebrity phoniness, and feels an extraliterary bond with his favorite writers (Harper Lee, Fitzgerald, Kerouac, Ayn Rand, etc.). But Charlie's no rich kid: the third child in a middle-class family, he attends public school in western Pennsylvania, has an older brother who plays football at Penn State, and an older sister who worries about boys a lot. An epistolary novel addressed to an anonymous "friend," Charlie's letters cover his first year in high school, a time haunted by the recent suicide of his best friend. Always quick to shed tears, Charlie also feels guilty about the death of his Aunt Helen, a troubled woman who lived with Charlie's family at the time of her fatal car wreck. Though he begins as a friendless observer, Charlie is soon pals with seniors Patrick and Sam (for Samantha), stepsiblings who include Charlie in their circle, where he smokes pot for the first time, drops acid, and falls madly in love with the inaccessible Sam. His first relationship ends miserably because Charlie remains compulsively honest, though he proves a loyal friend (to Patrick when he's gay-bashed) and brother (when his sister needs an abortion). Depressed when all his friends prepare for college, Charlie has a catatonic breakdown, whichresolves itself neatly and reveals a long-repressed truth about Aunt Helen.
A plain-written narrative suggesting that passivity, and thinking too much, lead to confusion and anxiety. Perhaps the folks at (co-publisher) MTV see the synergy here with Daria or any number of videos by the sensitive singer-songwriters they feature.