Reality reaches a new high in this tender and refreshing film that restores your faith in the youth of America and takes you back to the glories and tribulations of your own high school years.

Oscar-nominated director Nanette Burstein (On the Ropes, The Kid Stays in the Picture) wisely chose to focus her documentary on teens in small town USA (Indiana), rather than elite and spoiled children of celebrities or drug- and gang-infested inner cities, so she can explore the individual personalities rather than the problems. Burstein selected five teenagers who embody the stereotypes of the princess, the jock, the nerd, the heartthrob and the rebel, and recorded them for ten months of their senior year.

The honest, raw emotion will surprise you — these are not publicity hungry status seekers looking to jumpstart showbiz careers, but the sincere kids next door who just want to graduate and go to a decent college. There has been much talk about the target audience; after all, documentaries have never ranked high on teenage moviegoer lists. However, because the kids in this film feel so universal, and there’s enough drama, comedy and suspense for a feature film, I wouldn’t be surprised if it became a teen cult favorite like Napoleon Dynamite.  Meanwhile, adults will breathe a sigh of relief that not all high school kids are out there either toting guns or spending $700.00 on a pair of shoes, and will fondly remember their own pasts.

Rated PG-13.

--LJM