2020 Movie
Dir. Jason Orley · United States of America · English
A familiar no-brainer
This low-stakes coming-of-age movie stars SNL’s Pete Davidson as Zeke, an aimless college dropout. His best friend, Monroe, is still in high school and is much younger and more innocent. Monroe doesn’t realize that he has a very biased outlook on life through Zeke, as he starts drug dealing, partying, and dating according to rules that are not his own.
Big Time Adolescence tries to be a statement on destructive friendships but doesn’t fully succeed. Its true value is that it’s a movie that you can turn your brain off to, and those rarely come with statements.
A seemingly bright and mostly innocent 16-year-old named Mo attempts to navigate high school under the guidance of his best friend Zeke, an unmotivated-yet-charismatic college dropout. Although Zeke genuinely cares about Mo, things start to go awry as he teaches Mo nontraditional life lessons in drug dealing, partying, and dating. Meanwhile, Mo’s well-meaning dad tries to step in and take back the reins of his son’s upbringing.
"A sturdy dramedy that makes up for its lack of depth in scrappy charm, and a willingness to admit that sometimes the best characters are ones destined to screw everything up."
— Eric Kohn
"Even when Big Time Adolescence starts to become ordinary, it always has a freshness from its on-screen talent, and from the promise of Orley's directorial eye."
— Nick Allen
Sundance
1 nom
Bilal Zouheir is the founder of A Good Movie to Watch. He is US-based and a member of the Nevada Film Critics Society. He grew up in Morocco, where he learned English from watching movies. Bilal's work with A Good Movie to Watch is focused on offering an alternative to streaming algorithms, which are often used as commercial tools by streaming services.
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