Rather bland, albeit somewhat original take on a known story

Rating: 5/10 (21 January 2013)

Review originally posted on InspirationRation.com - The Perks of Being a Wallflower is a coming of age story where introverted, shy, 15-year-old Charlie (Logan Lerman) enters high-school, and meets some new friends.
Truthfully, there's a whole bunch of movies like this out already, and this one doesn't seem to be adding that much originality to the table. All the standard high-school-based movie scenes come by: Boy is bullied, boy meets friends, boy meets girl, boy goes to high-school dance, boy tries drugs, boy has first kiss, boy has relationship trouble, boy has serious mental issues. Oh OK, so the last one is sort of different.
Without spoiling any of the plot, Charlie has some psychological difficulties, and we learn about their origins in flashbacks (how original). The whole set-up is rather bland. Truthfully, the entire plot is rather bland. There seems to be almost no character development within the story at all. Aside from Charlie none of the other characters change in any significant way from the initial impressions we get of them at the start of the movie. And yes, Charlie finds some friends, and perhaps becomes less of a recluse, but he reverts back to his old self by the end of the movie, making the entire ordeal feel somewhat aimless.
There is no purpose to the plot. There is a beginning, a middle, and an end, but nothing truly noteworthy happens anywhere within that time. This is just a story of a kid, and his first year of high- school. Thing is, we all know this story, because we have all been there ourselves.
Admittedly, there are definite strong points within the plot. Some earnestly serious issues are touched upon, such as suicide, abuse, homophobia, bullying, and the aforementioned mental health problems. But it is all just thrown together to produce an angsty stew of – perhaps slightly above averagely – damaged teens and their shenanigans.
The Perks of Being a Wallflower is set in the '90s, and this is established very nicely with the correct technology, attire and especially musical references, including whole scenes dedicated to the Rocky Horror Picture Show. Now, Rocky Horror was a bit before my time (thankfully?), but I'm glad to know it was already a somewhat nerdy thing to like back in the early '90s.
In the end, walking out of the cinema, all I was left with were lingering feelings of melancholy and confusion. Melancholy, as I was thinking about the main characters' damaged pasts; and confusion about why this rather bland story was ever made into a movie in the first place.
All reviews are inherently subjective, but given the widely varying reviews of this movie, I suspect you probably have to see for yourself whether this is a movie you'll enjoy. - Review originally posted on InspirationRation.com