The Myth of the American Sleepover
Director: David Robert Mitchell
Year Released: 2010
Rating: 1.5
Three "sleepovers" take place in Michigan: one for girls, one for guys and one for incoming Freshman at the University of Michigan-Ann Arbor, and over the course of that night there's your usual teen drama: boys cheating (by kissing other girls!), girls smoking pot, people drinking and hanging out. It wants to be Dazed and Confused but doesn't have the wit or wisdom: there are a couple insightful or knowing moments, but appears caught up in its own malaise. I realize that teen-hood is an awful lot of naval-picking and silent crushes, but as someone who has spent time as a teen (and tried to forget it) and worked with teens (and currently drinking the anger away) I couldn't help but feel that Mitchell unfortunately excised the energy and exuberance people in that age group possess: this is just the anxiety part.
