Authenticity shines bright in this gem

Rating: 10/10 (19 February 2013)

I thought this was my first review ever, but I remember now that I reviewed Pokemon the First Movie two years ago. It is rare that I want to take Ebert's position and review a film. However, this wonderful gem deserves it: the cast, the crew, the writers, everyone involved deserves this review.
First off, Logan Lerman's character is EXACTLY like I was early on in high school, and probably the way a lot of high schoolers are. As I was watching him awkwardly try to find his place, and struggle to raise his hand even when he had an answer, I was just thinking about my time in high school around 2007. The film is so realistic, it's devastating. For instance, the high school dance scene. Charlie (Logan Lerman) saw everyone else dancing, and he slowly eases his way out to the dance floor and starts moving his body as if he's never done that before. Well, I was JUST like that. In fact, I was so bad, I had this one very nice, beautiful girl to fall back on if I couldn't find a dance partner. She'd always let me dance with her and it helped me learn. I'll never forget her.
Anyways, the authenticity of 'Wallflower' kills me. It doesn't rely on unrealistic plot tactics to be interesting, because it ALREADY is more than interesting. The whole cast does their job well, and Emma Watson, just coming off from Harry Potter, PROVES she can do something different- and she does. With flair.
To wrap up this review, let me also tell you that Logan Lerman once gave me acting advice. He's a nice person and I'd love to start seeing him in more. He deserves an Oscar for this film. Another interesting tid-bit, is that he lost the role of Spider-Man to Andrew Garfield. The two films were made around the same time. Looking at 'Perks' and especially when Charlie picks up those glasses, I couldn't help but think how good he COULD have been as the new Spider-Man as well. However, whats done is done, and Andrew Garfield did more than well to prove he deserved it too, so I'm not complaining.
'The Perks of being a Wallflower' proves to us that if you can relate to the characters in a film enough, then you don't need vampires or werewolves or over-convoluted gun-fire to stand out best of the best, above all the rest.