In this latest entry into the coming-of-age genre, Chris Colfer of angsty Glee fame, is now a snarky writer who wants nothing more than to be taken seriously, despite a bevy of underestimating adults, and has hopes of getting into the college of his choice, Northwestern University, even if he has to take down his entire high-school student body to get there.
Now, we’re more than familiar with this type of story, and with the outsider kid who really seems like they’re kind of cool, and probably the type you’d want to be friends with because of course they eschew all typical high school stereotypes. They’re so much deeper than the jocks or the musical theatre kids (Ahem) and they usually want something more out of their lives than sitting around with a spouse, two kids, and a picket fence. These kids want to go places and meet interesting, smart, eclectic people. You know, those folks they won’t ever meet in their small towns of East Bumbleferg Ohio. This is the self-aware, self-assured kid Hollywood believes lives deep down in the best of us, or should be aspired to for the worst of us. Yes, ever since Molly Ringwald’s “Andy” worked at Trax, railed against the “richies” in her town, and asked Blaine to Prom — movie kids have been telling us that there’s more to life than just being popular. But are we tiring of the smart loner? The preachy kid who in his or her own way is saying that pseudo anti-popularity should be the new popular?
The trailer looks as if it wants to give voice to the overlooked, studious, ambitious student, but at the same time, says, “Hey, this kid is better than the rest” in a bit of a smug way. But are these kids really overlooked in 2012? Is it still so difficult for the middle class or upper middle class white kid to traverse high school and land on his or her feet if they’re motivated and determined like many of the characters shown in these whistling, indie opuses? Are they real, or has it become all a bit contrived in that we don’t actually believe that Ellen Page’s “Juno,” Emma Stones’ “Olive,” or now Colfer’s “Carson” would be anything less than smart, funny superstars given this amount of charisma, depth, and tailor-made writing?
These kids probably are more Hollywood premixed cake batter, and less unpredictable, yet authentic characters grown from scratch. So, yes, it may all be a bit far-fetched, but at least, for the sake of high-school comedies in the fanciful world of Hollywood, it’s nice to dream about challenges, isn’t it?
