#140RVW
Excellent character study by rookie writer/director Craig Johnson features great acting by Mark Duplass, beautiful pacific northwest scenes.
What’s more:
I’m getting to really enjoy movies with Mark Duplass. Sometimes he writes, sometimes he directs, sometimes he acts, sometimes with brother Jay Duplass. But the result is consistently well-made, realistic, mostly independent films. This film contains the best acting that I have seen from him yet.
In True Adolescents, Duplass plays Sam, an unreliable man-child still trying to make it as a rocker and refusing to take on any responsibility. This isn’t a Jack Black, School of Rock type character – he’s not funny, just kind of sad. After being kicked to the curb by his latest girlfriend, he crashes with his aunt Sharon, a divorcee who is barely older than him, and her teenage son, Oliver. When Sharon’s ex-husband fails to take Oliver & his best friend Jake on a promised camping trip, Sam reluctantly takes the boys himself. Sam is at least as immature as the teenagers but in the woods he’s going to have to man up.
Written and directed by first-timer Craig Johnson, True Adolescents is an excellent film. It is an unflinching look at all of the awkwardness of adolescence, whether chronological or that of a man who refuses to grow up. It has a ton of funny moments, but it pulls none of its punches. Sam has to come to terms with who he has really become and it is not a gentle ride.
Poster:
Trailer:
Bechdel Test:
The Representation Test Score: D (3 pts)
(http://therepresentationproject.org/grading-hollywood-the-representation-test/)
| Main Cast | Mark Duplass Sam Bryant, Bret Loehr Oliver Mitchell, Carr Thompson Jake, Melissa Leo Sharon Mitchell |
| Rating | |
| Release Date | Fri 29 Jul 2011 UTC |
| Director | Craig Johnson |
| Genres | Comedy |
| Plot | Craig Johnson’s poised and poignant first feature follows Sam (Mark Duplass), an, unbeknownst to him… |
| Poster |  |
| Runtime | 88 |
| Tagline | Get lost. |
| Writers | Craig Johnson (written by) |
| Year | 2009 |