THE PERKS OF BEING A WALLFLOWER

year: 2012 cast: Logan Lerman, Emma Watson rating: **1/2

Since when are Wallflowers… those who don’t take part in social activities and stand back while others dance the night away… the best looking kids in school? Well they are here – a melodrama about three particular students that just can’t fit in… Or perhaps they simply refuse to.

Beginning with the main protagonist, narrating his life from day one as a freshman in a campus that seems to harbor only boisterous and experienced seniors: Logan Lerman is Charlie, the reclusive little brother of popular siblings yet he hasn’t a friend in the world, or in this case, the entire high school. Thankfully there’s Patrick, a confident gay student and his stepsister Sam, played by HARRY POTTER actress Emma Watson, who had a reputation and now lurks in the shadows with her other ROCKY HORROR PICTURE SHOW-loving friends.

The kids are likeable and it would be hard not to connect with at least one of them, but the problem lies on genre: WALLFLOWER doesn’t know whether to be serious, funny, or, by the overlong conclusion, completely tragic. Like the characters, this adaptation of the popular novel suffers a big identity crisis, although by the end you’ll feel moved – or at least thankful you survived a painful year that, shown on the expression of Logan Lerman’s face, is on full display. If anything else, he alone carries the burden of a troubled soul who eventually finds his place. And with friends like Patrick and Sam, providing a safety net a bit too easily, what’s not to like about teenage suffering? Then again, this is about the perks, not the jerks...