Remember when you were all like passing notes and going to second base with Bobby? Well, kiss those days good-bye. We’re dealing with a whole new breed of teenagers, complete with way too much texting. And I’m happy to say that we have Nanette Burstein to film it all in her Sundance-approved documentary, American Teen.

I, for one, had some gripes about this movie. But don’t go spreading nasty rumors about me just yet. As a whole, I liked it because:

a) It made me cringe, laugh and not necessarily cry, but feel sorry for the kids.

b) You really saw 4 different groups of people, and not just the cool crowd.

I guess this movie could be compared to the Breakfast Club. But I wouldn’t say any of the kids (oh sorry, teenagers) actually became friends with one another, unless you count a minor character/jock/cute/cool type dipping into the freak pool for about 5 minutes (for more movie time possibly?). This documentary is really more about 4 different teenagers, their clicks (or lack thereof) and their desire to find the perfect mate, the perfect school and the perfect place to get away from everyone in Small Town, Indiana.

As far as the “characters” go, you’ll really hate this one teen. Or at least I did. She is everything you see on The Hills/O.C./90210 times 10. She’s the girl everyone thinks is pretty, only because she’s popular. And she’s only popular because she’s rich (or I should say, because her parents are rich). And she’s mean because of all of this. Apparently these attributes make you way cool in some parts of the world.  

You’ll love the jock and his desire to do it all. He is popular for all the good reasons. Because he’s simply a nice guy.

You’ll applaud the dork for his endless effort in finding a girl. Any girl. Even if that girl doesn’t like him and then cheats on him. I imagine this kid will end up with some S&M type of fetish when he’s older. He’ll never stop trying and it’s just so cute and sad, wrapped up in a nice, little bow.

And you’ll pity the depressed girl, not so much because she’s depressed, but mainly because her parents are as screwed up as she is.

So the only reasons I didn’t care for the movie was because:

a) Even though it was about an hour and 45 minute movie, I felt myself getting antsy towards the end. Like, okay, I get each teen’s story, now tell me where they ended up so I can write this review already.

b) Burstien used different animated/cartoonish/3-d techniques to add something to each teenager’s storyline, but I just didn’t care for it. These animations seemed like they came out of nowhere, and were merely time fillers.

But besides those 2 negative points, I liked (not liked-liked) this movie. Days later, I was still thinking about it. The premature sex, the drunken nights in the basement, the prank calls, the cattiness, the tears and even some good times. You’ll reminiscence and laugh. But most of all, you’ll be glad you never have to go through that part of your life ever again.

American Teen is playing at Egyptian Theatre:

Friday, May 30 at 7:00 pm

and

Saturday, May 31 at 11:00 am