Plot summary (from the studio): A funny and touching coming-of-age story based on the beloved best-selling novel by Stephen Chbosky, THE PERKS OF BEING A WALLFLOWER is a modern classic that captures the dizzying highs and crushing lows of growing up. Starring Logan Lerman, Emma Watson and Ezra Miller, THE PERKS OF BEING A WALLFLOWER is a moving tale of love, loss, fear and hope—and the unforgettable friends that help us through life.
Warning: Spoilers below!
Liked:
- Logan Lerman, the young man who played Charlie, was pretty good here. I’d never heard of him before, but I instantly liked him in this role. He brought a necessary sweetness and naivete to Charlie that made the character relatable.
- I enjoyed the callbacks to the ’90s, from the fashion to the music to the house parties to the mix tapes. I was in high school during that decade and a lot of what I saw in this movie rang true with my own experiences.
Disliked:
- I really couldn’t stand Patrick. Maybe it’s the actor (whom I’ve seen in Royal Pains), or maybe it’s just that I’m sick of the world-weary, wise-beyond-his-years, can’t-wait-to-leave-this-small-town gay character cliche that he represented. Whatever the reason, I rolled my eyes practically every time he appeared on screen.
- The Rocky Horror Picture stuff didn’t make much sense to me. I thought Patrick, Sam, and their friends were outcasts at school BECAUSE of their participation in things like that. But they seemed to be playing in front of a packed theater each time and the students were really cheering/going wild over them. Were they actually popular???
- The aunt molestation reveal was underwhelming. It seemed like the filmmakers meant it to be a shocker, but by that point in the movie, the plot had stalled so much that I didn’t care anymore.
Rating:
While The Perks of Being a Wallflower certainly had some things going for it, including Logan Lerman’s performance, I found it mostly underwhelming. The second act drags the film down, and turned a promising start into just another coming-of-age tale. I give this one 3 stars out of 5.
