High School Record

I watched this movie ages ago and remembered liking it, and then ended up watching it again recently, mostly due to the fact that I couldn't find anything else on netflix. I loved it. It absolutely held up over time, and watching it again as an adult sparked all these bittersweet nostalgic memories of that short fleeting time of your life. It was hilarious and touching and the characters seemed engaging and real, probably since most if not all are musicians instead of typical Hollywood actors. It's one of those movies that looks easy to make in a way, but is actually really hard to pull off. It definitely was ahead of it's time.

I saw this film at Sundance this year and at first I didn't know what to think. The film is very raw and almost appears to be something you can make. That is NOT the case. Once the film gets going you get hooked. The story is solid and does a great job building up the plot and characters which is impressive because of the nature of the film. Basically, its not like all the rest of the films you see. The characters are so unique and entertaining, they themselves make the movie. All in all, this movie was very well done for what it is. I recommend seeing it if you have an appetite for distinction. Please release this movie! And please give us some memorable quotes!

A great portrayal of the microcosm of the American high school experience. This is an brilliant film on multiple levels. Both witty and humorous the film presents an adult viewpoint on the teenage experience without being preachy or dumbed-down (like many high school films). The acting is great, the scenes are well-written, and the dialog is spot-on. It takes a little bit to become accustom to the style of the film, but ultimately you become completely engaged with the originality of everything the film has to offer. With the similarities of the truthful awkwardness and sincere characters of Freaks and Geeks (without the clichés), High School Record is film that many can relate to and I highly recommend checking it out.

I just saw "High School Record" at the 2005 Sundance Film Festival. I really enjoyed seeing it amongst the expensive, high profiles films that week. It was funny, (very funny) and original yet simple in scope. I'm interested to see if this movie gets bought or distributed. I'm not sure about the commercial appeal of this film, for it is a bit slow at times, there are never any huge punch lines or sweeping character arcs, and the soundtrack is good but not recognizable to a mainstream audience. The actors who played the half a dozen high school art students and their one flaky teacher were all first time actors, apparently coming straight from the underground Los Angeles punk scene. This was certainly an "amateur" movie, but that is why it is so effective. It is shot like a documentary from the point of view of two of the art school students. Rather than making any judgements on the character traits or flaws of these eccentric teenagers, the movie delivers a day-in-the-life look at this handful of seniors who in addition to wrestling with thoughts of post-high school life, or the status quo of their relationships, spend most of their time executing inventive ways to break from the minutia of high school. If the goal of this filmmaker was to show high school life as it is for the nerdy/rebellious/inventive kids, than I think keeping the low budget and low production value made for a much more effective film. And I hope "High School Record" does earn some recognition, for while it may look like a movie any high school kid has ever thought of making, that's just the point: this is the first to actually do it... and make it to Sundance, no less.

I saw this movie at Sundance 2005 and was stunned at how bad it was, although based on the catalog description I was excited to see it. Supposedly a "mockumentary" of two high school students making a documentary of high school life, it featured bad acting, bad directing, completely lack of engaging characters as written, and all-around is a total bust. I love good movies about high school, and this is not one of them. The characters are one-dimensional and self-consciously "cool" although they are supposed to be outcasts. You get the overall impression of a bunch of people sitting around making an on-purposely-bad movie to show their friends, yet somehow it got into Sundance. Mystifying.