derek-ipod I enjoyed it at first but then started thinking about how the odds of this movie being authentic are pretty much 0. Yet another "documentary" director pushing the genre envelope. Countless shots where you think, "well, how convenient was that...what are the odds of her camera being there".Why not just call it a movie with untrained kids doing the acting based on their experiences. A fantastic movie called Kids (1999) was done in a similar style sans lies & deception. Does she not think her movie can be enjoyed as fiction? This manipulation frustrates me. I was recently at a documentary festival where the director fessed up to staging a few of the funnier scenes...someone in the audience followed up this revelation with a "why did you do that?". he just shrugged. i feel that sort of lack of credibility & concern from the director when watching this film.watch Kids and see how a film "shot in documentary style" should be made. or 7-up/Hoop Dreams if you want reality. don't settle for this middling attempt.

mengranzhao Before, I have always imagined that the teens in America lead a better life than the Chinese, for they may enjoy better welfare services, however, after seeing the documentary, I understand that the American teens are not so happy. The poor have to struggle for a scholarship to get enrolled in the university, and the rich are also tormented in their personal love or friendship. Just everyone has a story. It is self-evident that we can never be peaceful, problems come to us one after another. What we have to do is to purse what we want, and be active. That will make our life more colorful.Teenagers are the future of our country, so never should be neglect the problem of the young. The government should finance more students in their studies, so they can repay more to the society in the their future career.

memocar36 I like how in the movie they show all the cliques, because even with everything that goes on in the world. People stick with cliques and what they know because sometimes differences can be fear. A fear of what other people might think if they try something new or hang out with a new person who is not from their clique like Mitch. I love the part when Hannah is on the stage and you hear his voice saying I have been here for four years and I have never met Hannah. Watching him, watch makes you wonder would he actually hang out with her before school was over because he was a jock and she was like the rebel she did things her own way on her own time. Which honestly I wish I could of done in high school just a little.Anyway they actually started hanging out and enjoying each others company until she hung out with him and his friends and it looked like none of them even decided to talk to her which was rude. Like it was like she was not even there. How rude I thought but then again it is high school and it was obvious that his friends didn't want her around and she felt out of place.

rjyelverton Though not as artificial as MTV pseudo-reality staple "The Hills", this Paramount produced documentary about several teens from Warsaw, IN, eschews verisimilitude in order to create as dramatic a film as possible. Some scenes ring true particularly those featuring the not-raised-on reality TV parents. (All except for the Elvis-impersonator father who clearly loves the attention.) The film consistently gives off an air of artificiality. Several teens date outside of their normal cliques and one can assume this in part has to do with a chance to get some time on camera. As anyone who has sat through "The Bachelor" or the odious "A Shot at Love", amour can be faked for the camera quite easily.And in its artificiality, the film inadvertently allows the viewer to contemplate the veracity of reality television and ask the question of whether or not anyone born in the late 20th century can ever be genuine for the camera. In effect, we're dealing with two barriers to capturing an accurate picture of today's teen, a promise made by the title. Teens are inundated by reality programming. They have internalized the rhythms of the reality show and the behavior of its stars. So its inevitable that teens will be "playing a part" in the drama. As mentioned above, there are several odd romantic choices made by the film's characters, as well, that reveal either a desire for stardom by the teens or meddling by producers/director. Likely a little bit of both. We are not really seeing a documentary about today's teen, but an observation of how teens will act while filmed.With all that understood, the film is entertaining. Director Nanette Burstein has crafted a slick production that plays like an above average teen flick. Even with the cameras on and several unbelievable dramatic contrivances, we do get glimpses of reality. Iconoclast Hannah's conversations with her manic depressive mother and the film's basketball games contain real drama. This is a highly flawed production that is nonetheless entertaining.