True Adolescents

First of all, this movie is an example how not to make a film. It absolutely lacks any story at all.

I thought the movie was light-hearted and cute for what it was. A screwed-up Gen-Xer type who, at age 34, is still without a real job, and, instead of remaining a selfish miscreant while living with his aunt, he decides to take up the offer to take his cousin and his cousin's pal on a camping trip for the weekend.

This quiet film stealthily approaches some rather profound questions about growing up, finding an identity, maturing, and developing a sense of responsibility—and it just kind of leaves them there, unanswered. That's not to say the film is without merit.

Okay, I'm 15 and I picked this to watch with my parents cause I thought it looked funny and I figured I'd be able to relate to the teenagers in it. I was SO wrong.

Sam is a character who hates the idea of growing up, and, even as he approaches his mid-thirties, he clings onto the idea that he is a musician that will get his big break any minute from now. His ideology is the kind teenagers exiting high school or entering college possess, but then go onto approach a life-realization that they're living in a fantasy.

True Adolescents had its world premiere at the SXSW Film Festival in Austin, TX. It is a solid effort at exploring the efforts of a man in his mid-30s who hasn't quite grown up to bond with his teenage nephew and his buddy during a weekend camping outing.

I liked Mark Duplass quite a lot in "Humpday," and there are several moments in "True Adolescents" when you get a glimpse of what a good actor he has it in him to be. But what also struck me about his performance in this coming-of-age story was how unlikable he can be when paired with the wrong material.

On Saturday, March 14, I attended the World Premiere of "True Adolescents" at the 2009 SXSW Film Festival.

Mark Duplass stars as Sam--a loser who, in his mid-30s, has no home and no job....but he is in a band!