I have to begin this review of Chbosky’s brilliant The Perks of Being a Wallflower with this sentiment: I am a pop-culture snob. I’ll openly admit it. I was hesitant in watching the film adaptation of one of my favorite books, which I’ve read a good five times in middle school. The book carried me through those cataclysmic years and into high school. I was jaded with the thought that something so personal could become a commodity.
The Perks of Being a Wallflower follows the story of a freshman, Charlie played by Logan Lerman. He’s entering high school from a past involving psychiatric hospital visits, the suicide of his best friend and the traumatic death of his aunt—”standing on the fringes of life.” In addition to the bullying that he experiences, it doesn’t seem like a promising year.
Enters senior Patrick, an openly gay, flamboyant student in Charlie’s shop class played by Ezra Miller. When Charlie sits with Patrick at a school football game, he’s introduced to Sam, Patrick’s stepsister and Charlie’s soon-to-be love interest played by Emma Watson. Through Patrick and Sam, Charlie meets a slew of welcoming alternative kids, making fanzines, taking drugs, going to the local Rocky Horror Picture Show showing and experiencing a feeling that Charlie describes as infinite: entering the “island of misfit toys.”
The Perks of Being a Wallflower explores the attributes of high school at an angle often uncharted in mainstream popular culture. The film delves into the struggle of being truly different than the average student through Charlie who struggles with psychological and emotional instability. The film also discusses the reality of being gay in high school and the shocking reality of bullying that comes with it. But more so, the film presents a jarring observation of life outside the guise of school, from sexual abuse to mental breakdowns in raw realism.
Plus the film’s soundtrack could not be outmaneuvered.
Set in the early 90s, Perks highlights the involvement the characters have with music of their time. The soundtrack includes some of the most iconic—and downright angst-ridden—artists including Sonic Youth and The Smiths. Mix tapes play a notable part in the telling of Charlie and his band of misfits’ stories. David Bowie’s “Heroes,” which blares—rightfully so—through a tunnel as Sam stands in the back of Patrick’s pick-up in a fluttering blur of tulle like a ballet dancer with a taste for Pearl Jam. New Order booms at a basement party, littered with red plastic cups—a sure sign of teens up to no good. Not to mention Charlie, Sam and Patrick’s profound love for 1975’s legendary The Rocky Horror Picture Show, in which they dance and sing along with at a cult-like showing of the musical. They also develop a fanzine called “Punk Rocky,” a dedication to the film with a badly DIY’ed, punk motif.
Not only did the film adaptation of Perks deter my fear that the movie version would not live up to the brilliant, coming-of-age novel—it blew my mind, even as a pop-culture snob.
