I watched this movie mostly to catch up on Liam James since his standout performance in "The Way Way Back". It is a humorous take on how three high school kids are rejected by the school board, teachers and then students at small town Oregon high school for their strong positions on things: Sarah Steele as Diwata Jones who is a natural drama/musical actress is rejected for the lead part in a school musical because she insists removed lines and scenes about teen pregnancy are restored, Liam James as Solomon Merrick who is an unassuming but intrepid reporter on the school paper who wants to report on the scandal of a teacher dismissed for child sex abuse but is silenced and Austin McKenzie as Howie Hawthorne a gay recent transferee from liberal Portland to a conservative Salem who wants to set up a Gay Straight Alliance at the school but is thwarted.
The three try to find voices for their rejected passions in the school Speech and Debate Club with mixed results. The movie climaxes with a compelling song and dance routine at the School Board's open mike night with a somewhat satisfying conclusion for the three upperclass students.
The plot did jump around a bit but the acting was good not great. I do find Hollywood's tendency to use youthful looking young adult actors playing teenagers to be annoying as it robs the movie of adolescent authenticity. Austin McKenzie was 23 playing an 18 year old, Sarah Steele was 28 ridiculously also playing a Senior and even Liam James (who was a very young looking 20 year old) was playing a Junior, these are all grown adults and they bring poise, maturity and on stage professionalism that is less evident with what an actual 17 or 18 year old actor still be in high school would be like. Looking young just isn't enough and when you're trying to cover quite heavy topics like teen pregnancy, censorship of young voices and how gay students cope in small town high schools, the movie's makers would've done the story lines more justice if they had used actors who really were still in the trenches of high school to best portray issues like these.
The three try to find voices for their rejected passions in the school Speech and Debate Club with mixed results. The movie climaxes with a compelling song and dance routine at the School Board's open mike night with a somewhat satisfying conclusion for the three upperclass students.
The plot did jump around a bit but the acting was good not great. I do find Hollywood's tendency to use youthful looking young adult actors playing teenagers to be annoying as it robs the movie of adolescent authenticity. Austin McKenzie was 23 playing an 18 year old, Sarah Steele was 28 ridiculously also playing a Senior and even Liam James (who was a very young looking 20 year old) was playing a Junior, these are all grown adults and they bring poise, maturity and on stage professionalism that is less evident with what an actual 17 or 18 year old actor still be in high school would be like. Looking young just isn't enough and when you're trying to cover quite heavy topics like teen pregnancy, censorship of young voices and how gay students cope in small town high schools, the movie's makers would've done the story lines more justice if they had used actors who really were still in the trenches of high school to best portray issues like these.