The Perks of Being a Wallflower

Golly Gosh! It has been quite a while since my last post but I do have a fairly good excuse... I have been traveling across the United States of America these past two months! Whilst I was over there I happened to visit Boston, Massachusetts where it rained 2 out of the 3 days I was there. This allowed me to use the excuse to go to the cinema and not feel bad about it. Fortunately I was traveling with my dear friend Alice, who is my cinema buddy back home, so she was also keen to catch a flick (or two). I had actually been super eager to see The Perks of Being a Wallflower, having read the book a couple of months before departing to the States. And fortunately for us it was showing! Whoop, Yeahhhh! (so much excitement)

The Perks of Being a Wallflower is a coming of age story set in the 1990s (because it was written in the 1990s, duh!), so think mix-tapes and awesome fashion (I am a sucker for 90s clothing and I love how the character Mary Elizabeth dresses). The book is told through letter form, it is Charlie (our main character) writing to an anonymous friend. He tells this friend of how he is going to stand out this school year and not be the introvert he has been in the past.

Stephen Chbosky has adapted his book into film so wonderfully, it makes you glad no one else touched it. The cast are perfect, Ezra Miller as Patrick is beyond brilliant and Logan Lerman makes the perfect Charlie. I also love that Emma Watson and Paul Rudd are in this, among many other great actors. (On a side note, Reece Thompson is in this! I have mentioned him previously in other posts and let me just say, although his character is minor/an asshole, he is exceptionally babe'n in this film).

When I read the book there were moments where I had to put it down, and as lame as it sounds, just take a break and look outside the window for a moment. Things got intense! But, I didn't think it was super intense until I saw the film. There are a fair few moments that make you get hella teary. At the end of the film Alice and I turned to each other and we were both a blubbering mess and agreed to wait until the credits rolled before we left the cinema. So remember to bring the Kleenex!

This is the perfect American teen film. It has everything, drugs; alcohol; homosexuality; first kisses; music by The Smiths; diner scenes; American football; punch ups in the cafeteria; awkward relationships and a scene involving Emma Watson standing in the back of a truck with her arms stretched out whilst Heroes by Bowie is played on the radio (spoiler).

I really, really, really enjoyed this movie. I couldn't be happier with Chbosky's film adaptation of his very own novel. It made me super happy but also left me feeling rather sad, but that didn't make me think any less of the film. I can't wait for it's release in Australia so I can see it again!

Rating: 4.5/5