Excellent friendships, tough topics, tough movie, sad

Rating: 4/10 (15 February 2013)

Tough movie. Watched this with my 13 year old daughter and some of the subject matter was too much for her. I believe any movie should stand on its own and not be compared to the original book (which I have not read).
This is a good movie about friendship -- extraordinary young actors! Being a friend means accepting the whole person; that was the good message in the show. Some of the best laughs and warmest feelings come from this group of 'wallflowers' or misfits fitting in with each other.
But, some of the other topics made this too much for my early teen to take. Me, too. Couldn't anyone in the show not have tragedy in their lives current or past? So glad the friends were there for the main character at the end, the uplift was good. But overall, too sad.
I would only recommend this for very mature early teens or mid-teens. Be prepared for very troubled, deep, and dark themes, but the friendship made and saved this movie. It's not a happy movie.
SPOILERS SPOILERS SPOILERS Some of the other subjects were hard to take, too many in fact. My daughter missed some of the references to Sam's promiscuous past, an adult in her past who acted inappropriately to her, the deleted scenes about the sister's pregnancy situation missed out on seeing Charlie as someone who was there for his loved ones but still another sad situation, a friend with possible bulimia, a teen who can't face being gay and his father who beats the son for being gay, lots of drinking and some drug use, the aunt molesting the main character was not revealed until toward the end of the movie was just too much to take by then as you are weighted down by all the sadness surrounding and happening to Charlie. If you are questioning whether to have your child watch this movie, you should know about all the tough topics.