This movie has a tone issue, it's about as steady as a canoe on the ocean during a storm. Anyway! This is a coming-of-age drama, but can't quite capture the proper feel for how heavy the subject matter is. This came out in 2005, _Rushmore_ (1998) had already taken a look at a high-school boy trying to find his place, and _American Beauty_ (1999) had really set the bar for introspective drama. But this... what a giant misstep. Let's start with the characters: No one is likable. We spend time with too many of them, and it only serves to show that they are all pretty vile. The subject of our story is Justin, and he is not so bad for the first few minutes of the movie, but quickly becomes annoying and stays that way. Another huge problem is the writing: Do you know how most stories have a through line, and our lead may or may not have an arch? Yeah, well, here everyone has an arch, and it's too much. There is simply too much crammed in here that is unnecessary or poorly fleshed out. Actually, this isn't even a story, it's a collection of events that merely shift into other events. Let's move onto the cast: While the acting is good, the roles are miscast. Some are playing too serious, others not serious enough. The only part of this I liked was Kelli Garner, but even she had the unfortunate task of trying to make Rebecca relatable. Like, what is the point of this movie, that life is chaotic, and people change, not always for the better? Just too many moving parts without the needed cohesion to make it work. What an utter waste of time. Not recommended to anyone. I will, however, look for more Garner movies.

He is A strange teenager.