Friday, October 5, 2012

The Perks of Being a Wallflower Review

Justin, Dad, and I saw The Perks of Being a Wallflower on October 4, 2012. I absolutely loved this movie. Justin and I were still discussing it for ten minutes after we saw it. He thought it was good as well. He normally doesn't come out and say if he thought something was good right away, but on this occasion he did. Now, I first found out this was going to be a theatrical release early last year and was immediately excited. I have read the book three times. I read it back in 2001 when I was at North. I read it junior year at Elmira College. I read it this past summer to refresh myself and delve back into one of my favorite books. In my opinion, the book is a must read, especially for those that may be close minded. Stephen Chbosky definitely opens your eyes with this. I was really glad to see that he directed and wrote the screenplay for the movie. That meant an accurate portrayl of his work. The casting for the movie is excellent and each actor/actress fits their role perfectly. The book and movie follow the life of Charlie, played perfectly by Logan Lerman, as he transcends from a tumultuous year of dealing with his friend's suicide in 8th grade to the sometimes tumultuous world of high school. He is an academic, but suffers from mental disorders and inner guilt about certain events, such as the loss of his Aunt Helen. He is a loner, but soon is befriended by the seniors at his high school, namely Sam and Patrick, who are step siblings. Emma Watson is young, beautiful, and extremely talented. Alot of scenes with her as Sam, especially the one on one conversations with Charlie had me crying at certain points, especially the climactic one dealing with the importance of love between them. I loved how well the tunnel scene was portrayed. Definitely well done. Ezra Miller was excellent as Patrick. He really did a great job of balancing the character's comedic side and dramatic side with Brad. Justin and I loved how the Rocky Horror Picture Show scenes came along. I loved how both sequences looked. Creature of the Night with Sam and Charlie is so cute to watch honestly. Emma and Logan had a fun time shooting that, and it allowed Emma to show a sexier side. I saw that she has three projects lined up which is awesome. I also thought the Don't Dream It, Be It sequence was well done. Ezra Miller really looked the part of Frank N' Furter in that scene, which he should have. Mae Whitman continued the pattern of perfect casting as Mary Elizabeth. As I was re-reading it over the summer, I had known the cast members by then and I kept seeing her in the role. I liked Paul Rudd's portrayal of Mr. Anderson as well. Rudd fit nicely into the role and worked off of Lerman's Charlie pretty well. Catcher In The Rye is actually my favorite book, and I always liked how that is one of the many books Mr. Anderson gives to him for pleasure reading. Perks explores how a person can lie about who they are, but deep down they know who they are. It's about looking within oneself to realize we are all wallflowers. We are all infinite-this is the basis for my brother Jake's tattoo. It is insightful, thought provoking, emotional, captivating, character identity, the ability to feel proud of who you are. as well as knowing you love the people that matter, and they love you back. Charlie has that with his sister Candace (good cameo by Nina Dobrev of The Vampire Diaries-who reminds me a little bit of my cousin Tiffany in the way they look. Tiffany just gave birth to a baby girl name Lila Raechel Christenesen on Wednesday. It's very exciting), Sam and Patrick, and Mr. Anderson. I have that with my brothers, my best friend Jennifer Turner, my father, my mother (who is looking at me type this from somewhere). We all need to have that acceptance. This book and this movie will show you that it is okay to be who you are. The people that accept you for you are the people that matter. Screw the rest!!! This is in my top ten movies, just like its in my favorite books. On a sidenote, really cool to see Emma Watson represents two of my favorite books. This movie had great acting from young actors that I can't wait to see more from adapted from one of the best books I've ever read. If you couldn't figure it out, this is a 5/5 for sure!!! Loved this!!!

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