A lifelike drama about high school friendship

Rating: 8/10 (3 March 2013)

Charlie is a shy and a little lonely 16-year-old kid. He expects high school to be a depressing experience with his poor social skills, but things take a turn when he meets the outgoing indie music fans Sam and Patrick and gets in their clique of friends. For a while, Charlie gets to go to parties, talk to people and feel a sense of belonging. He learns a lot about people, life and the nature of high school.
The Perks of Being a Wallflower is mostly an upbeat and fun film with good acting and a good soundtrack (The Smiths, David Bowie, Rocky Horror Picture Show, stuff like that) but has its fair share of darker discussion as well -- themes of loneliness, emotional problems, homosexuality, sexual abuse and drug use are explored. Well, the theme of drug used isn't really explored, the kids just do a little drugs and end up fine.
I felt the film had a positive outlook on life and shared some important lessons. I'd recommend this to everyone who remembers what it was like in high school, the film captures those emotions pretty well.