A trifecta of established young stars – Logan Lerman (Percy Jackson), Emma Watson (Harry Potter) and Ezra Miller (We Need to Talk About Kevin) – headline The Perks of Being a Wallflower, based on the acclaimed novel by Stephen Chbosky (who also wrote and directed the film adaptation).
Perks of Being a Wallflower tells the tale of Charlie (Lerman), an introvert high school freshman who gets a crash-course in living teenage life to the fullest from an attractive senior named Sam (Watson) – who Charlie instantly develops a crush on – and Sam’s gay stepbrother, Patrick (Miller). When he’s not getting up to some ‘extracurricular’ activities (parties, drugs, and teen debauchery), Charlie is encouraged to pursue his dreams of becoming a writer by his English teacher, Bill (Paul Rudd).
Rounding out the Perks of Being a Wallflower cast are people like Kate Walsh (Private Practice) and Dylan McDermott (American Horror Story) as Charlie’s parents, Zane Holtz (Lerman’s Percy Jackson costar) as Charlie’s older brother/star athlete, and Melanie Lynskey (Two and a Half Men) as Charlie’s late Aunt Helen – a troubled woman who Charlie remains (unsettlingly) obsessed with.
Check out the official Perks of Being a Wallflower poster below:
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Judging solely by the trailer, you might think Perks of Being a Wallflower is mostly just a nostalgic examination of high school life – and, to a degree, you’d be correct (for better or worse). However, Chbosky’s novel also deals with some pretty heavy subject matter, including, suicide, the awkwardness of teen sexual awakening, and (no spoilers!) other uncomfortable ideas. Presumably, the film adaptation retains much of that content, seeing how Chbosky is the one calling the shots.
As far as early footage goes: Perks of Being a Wallflower (in this writer’s opinion) comes off as a somewhat romanticized and pretentious look at themes and ideas that’ve been addressed in countless previous films about adolescence. It doesn’t help that Chbosky has a bit of a track record when it comes to overly-self-important adaptations (see: his script for the film version of Rent). Also, the decision to hold onto the original framing device from the book – where Charlie narrates his experiences and thoughts via letters to an unknown correspondent – could result in lots of tedious voiceover.
Watson and Lerman in 'Perks of Being a Wallflower'
Moving onto the positive side of things – the three main stars in Perks of Being a Wallflower look quite solid in their respective roles. Also, Chbosky’s novel really speaks directly to young people who are either going through the same events as Charlie, or who still have fresh memories of their high school mindset (similar to Twilight – take that as you will). That’s all to say: the film adaptation may likewise mean more to the less-experienced, under-20 crowd, than it does to us cynical adults.
The Perks of Being a Wallflower opens in U.S. theaters on September 21st, 2012.
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Source: MTV
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Why does Screenrant have to put in ‘Twilight’ as a frame of reference in every movie that has to deal with teenagers?
Every damn time. Grow up man.
I only mentioned Twilight because, like Perks of Being a Wallflower, it’s based on an epistolary novel that’s told strictly from the perspective of a teenager – and thus, very much reflects their own limited view of the world, which may put off people who no longer (or never did) look at things from that perspective.
Also, Twilight has not only spawned a number of imitators (I Am Number Four, the Teen Wolf TV Show, etc.), but it also offers a direct contrast to other popular franchises centered around teens (The Hunger Games). Like it or not, it’s a property which has influenced much of the contemporary entertainment that’s about and/or for teenagers. Hence, it ends up getting mentioned a good deal, in articles that deal with that topic.
BURN.
Wow, Miller stole whatever scene HE was in.
Lerman was crap in Peter Jackson, but he did alright in 3:10 to Yuma, so who knows this might be interesting.
I’ve only seen Emma Watson in Harry Potter so I have no idea what to expect from her.
Whatever, the movie looks more interesting than I thought it would, so that’s good.
sorry but this is not fair U.S. MTV videos dont work for people who dont live in America
So this is another teen movie that boils down to the conflict or will they won’t they do sex/drugs/cruelty in their all knowing teen powers? Can’t anyone come up with a more interesting premise?
Don’t judge the movie until you’ve read the book. It’s deeper and has a lot more depth than you’d think.
the book was really odd, not in a pleasurable way.
the trailer looks like the movie will be a pretty faithful adaptation of the book, for better or worse.
They did it. The book is my all time favorite, and I was slightly worried about everything from the cast to the script but damn, they pulled it off. I had the goofiest smile on my face the whole time as I caught scenes and lines from the book, and the cast steals every scene they’re in. Thank you Hollywood, for not f***ing up a book that changed my life a few years ago.
EMMA looks seriously miscast. The only reason they got her was because of her star power (she’s admitted this herself. They couldn’t get financing for the movie until she signed on). Sam was a really interesting disturbed character in the book but Emma is just going to be Hermione doing drugs and having sex with older men. Her accent is also really off.
On a side note currently awaiting the release of the slut and the falcon by Stephen Chbosky.
Emma Watson kinda reminds me of Winona Ryder here.
If it didn’t have Emma Watson in it I wouldn’t even have watched the whole trailer, lol. Sorry, my highschool was nothing like this movie, none of that stuff happened. Unfortunately, highschool in the real world is so much more boring. You go, meet some people, take classes, graduate, maybe talk to a few friends for a little while longer, lose track, move on, the end… I guess you can’t really make a movie out of that then, lol.
Agreed. Honestly, high school was the most boring period of my life.
Geek alert.
Ezra Miller is the one reason to see this movie.
Emma’s American accent sounds very good
ah the perks of have gone to a high school where everyone owns a car. Where there is a party at the rich kids house every week. A place where people go to the football games and everyone is in a clique.
I wouldve killed to go to a high school like that. Like “Charlie Bartlette” “The Breakfast Club”, “Ferris Buhller” or “Perks of Being a Wall flower”
my highschool (graduated in the suburbs 3 years ago) had very vague cliques. People hung out with a few good friends, but was a part of 2 or three groups like that. None were specific as chess team or football club. There wasnt a party every weekend, and there was almost no school spirit. Half the kids at my school were from average middle class families and only 1/3 of the seniors owned cars.
But i guess if they made a movie of that High School it would be pretty boring. It sure was to go there
I think the ‘happy-clappy’ trailer is misleading. Everyone who has seen the film and tweeted or blogged about it says it is very good and on the whole more sad than upbeat. Some viewers owned up to being in tears more than once – oh and the soundtrack music of the film (not the trailer) is from the 90′s.
It looks to be very interesting, though difficult to believe and fully understand for those of us who went to incredibly ordinary high schools. The book WAS, of course, written in 1999. But I wonder how faithful to the book it will be considering the writer is also directing. That’s pretty rare. Still, looking forward to it.
I’m super excited for this movie, I loved the book and I love Emma Watson and from what I saw in the trailer the cinematography looks pretty great! I do agree with some of the previous comments about how they romanticize high school but I feel like all movies do that and I don’t think this one should be singled out. I don’t think it should be compared to Twilight because Twilight doesn’t really teach you anything besides how essential it is to have a boyfriend (ugh) and a large quantity of teens don’t relate to Twilight, they just go for the romance. I hope the movie is good and I genuinely hope it is a success, I haven’t seen a really good movie in months and I need something to tie me over until December when all of my eagerly anticipated film adaptations hit theaters. I loved The Perks of Being a Wildflower, I think her accent it good (imagine trying to pull off a realistic British accent for that long if you were cast as a British role) I love that the author took the initiative to direct the movie himself I’m just so excited