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American Teen

PG-13 Released Jul 25, 2008 1h 40m Documentary List
70% Tomatometer 152 Reviews 59% Audience Score 100,000+ Ratings
Four high-school seniors navigate their way through the ups and downs of life in their small Indiana town. Hannah is bright and pretty, but a misfit who wants to move to California after graduation. Colin, a basketball player, feels intense pressure to make his town and family proud and earn a sports scholarship. Jake is painfully shy in a group. Megan is smart, pretty and wealthy, and rules the roost at school. Popular Mitch risks his social status to date Hannah. Read More Read Less
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American Teen

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Critics Consensus

American Teen skates some thin ice with its documentary ethics but, in the end, presents a charming and stylish (if packaged) tale.

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Critics Reviews

View All (152) Critics Reviews
Limara Salt Little White Lies Funny and fresh, it won't break boundaries but it will make anyone thankful for growing up. Rated: 4/5 Mar 7, 2009 Full Review Andrew Male Empire Magazine Despite its flashy approach, American Teen remains emotionally involving because of the lives on show. You will care about these people, even if you suspect the director doesn't. Rated: 3/5 Mar 6, 2009 Full Review Dave Calhoun Time Out It's a lightly amusing film but it's also an unchallenging one which reinforces presumptions about kids rather than surprising with new insights. It floats in the shallow end of filmmaking. Rated: 2/5 Mar 6, 2009 Full Review Richard Propes TheIndependentCritic.com One of the best films ever made about the high school experience. Rated: 3.5/4.0 Sep 2, 2020 Full Review Annie Wagner The Stranger (Seattle, WA) American Teen succeeds in being exactly as crisp, entertaining, and useless as a romantic comedy. Aug 21, 2017 Full Review Kevin Craft Miami Herald This is not compelling film making; it just makes you hope that these kids will lighten up and learn to enjoy life. Rated: 1.5/4 Apr 6, 2015 Full Review Read all reviews

Audience Reviews

View All (1000+) audience reviews
Geke g Nostalgic and enjoyable American film. Rated 5 out of 5 stars 07/27/24 Full Review Munkhchimeg T Seems nostalgic movie. Everyone’s life that they go through is not easy and beautiful. Rated 5 out of 5 stars 07/27/24 Full Review Stephen C The truest 1 and 8/12 hours ever told and revealed!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! Rated 5 out of 5 stars 02/25/23 Full Review Audience Member Nostalgic time capsule with little relation and nothing new to offer nor convincingly natural out of suspected contractual staged, invasive observations that feels composited of better teenage genre offering through film and TV than this disinteresting irrelevance. (B-) Rated 3 out of 5 stars 02/17/23 Full Review Audience Member I watched this as part of a documentary class in my senior year of high school. I will say that, from some perspectives, this could accurately show what high school is like, but I just don't know. People tend to act differently when there is evidence to prove they are being filmed. I had high expectations for this in the beginning. The subjects seemed unique. But as I watched it, I got bored. The plot didn't really have its own twist to it. It seemed to have a lot of stereotypes- the sports guy, the ‘lonely' girl, grades, family- and although the end was a ‘happy' one, it didn't feel representative of reality. I know from many personal experiences that there is rarely, if ever, a real light at the end of the tunnel. Before watching this, I thought there would be at least one ‘unnatural' event that would set the plot in a different direction than expected. I thought there would be, I don't know, a medical emergency or a tragedy that would throw everything into chaos. (I became ‘that person' in August 2013, just before 5th grade, which was when I was diagnosed with childhood brain cancer. Its effects still linger to this day in more ways than one.) I also don't like how there were a few scenes that seemed out of touch with reality, such as the pool scene. Scenes such as that one seemed... forced, in a sense. So, maybe I can't say this is a great documentary, but I can say that it is a good documentary for people who want to get the general gist of what it's like to be a teenager. Rated 3 out of 5 stars 02/20/23 Full Review Audience Member American teen was about American teens in America being teenagers. Colin looked like the Luna Park mascot and he was also really ugly. He played basketball. He was ugly and had a big chin. Idk who the lonely dudes name was but he was a simp. I hate simps they smell like 6 day old bath water. You can't get a degree in getting a girlfriend. Forgot who the other two people are. One girl really wanted to go to California but her parents were like "NO! >:(" and she was like "oh.. :(" and I felt bad for her. The other girl reminded me of Regina George. Anyway the movie gets a 2/5 stars bc it wasn't a convincing documentary which was sad. Rated 2 out of 5 stars 02/22/23 Full Review Read all reviews
American Teen

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Cast & Crew

American Teen

American Teen: Official Clip - Vandalism American Teen: Official Clip - Vandalism 2:12 American Teen: Official Clip - Hannah Won't Go To School American Teen: Official Clip - Hannah Won't Go To School 2:08 American Teen: Official Clip - Jake Gets Drunk American Teen: Official Clip - Jake Gets Drunk 1:55 American Teen: Official Clip - Ganging Up on Erica American Teen: Official Clip - Ganging Up on Erica 2:01 American Teen: Official Clip - Spin the Bottle American Teen: Official Clip - Spin the Bottle 1:27 American Teen: Official Clip - Colin Wins the Game American Teen: Official Clip - Colin Wins the Game 2:10 American Teen: Official Clip - Hannah's Dreams American Teen: Official Clip - Hannah's Dreams 1:38 American Teen: Official Clip - Meet Megan American Teen: Official Clip - Meet Megan 1:32 American Teen: Official Clip - Going Viral American Teen: Official Clip - Going Viral 2:10 View more videos
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Movie Info

Synopsis Four high-school seniors navigate their way through the ups and downs of life in their small Indiana town. Hannah is bright and pretty, but a misfit who wants to move to California after graduation. Colin, a basketball player, feels intense pressure to make his town and family proud and earn a sports scholarship. Jake is painfully shy in a group. Megan is smart, pretty and wealthy, and rules the roost at school. Popular Mitch risks his social status to date Hannah.
Director
Nanette Burstein
Producer
Nanette Burstein, Eli Gonda, Chris Huddleston, Owen Katz, Karen Lawler, Anna Molund, Jordan Roberts
Screenwriter
Nanette Burstein
Distributor
Paramount Pictures
Production Co
Firehouse Films, Quasiworld Entertainment
Rating
PG-13 (Brief Smoking|All Involving Teens|Sexual Material|Some Drinking|Some Strong Language)
Genre
Documentary
Original Language
English
Release Date (Theaters)
Jul 25, 2008, Limited
Release Date (Streaming)
Jul 1, 2013
Box Office (Gross USA)
$940.5K
Runtime
1h 40m
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