What's it like being in high school these days? American Teen gives us a look at five students in Warsaw, Indiana as they go through their senior year. They are: Megan Krizmanich, the social queen of the school; Hannah Bailey, who is something of a misfit; Colin Clemens, the star of the basketball team; Mitch Reinhold, another basketball player, but a bit less of a star than Colin; and Jake Tusing, a shy, awkward band nerd. It would be simplistic to see this as a complete cross-section of American teens—they are far too diverse to narrow down to five examples. But this film does give us a chance to see some real life teens in their native habitat. It serves as a reminder for those of us who think back to those carefree days, that they aren't as carefree as we may remember.

The cameras that follow these students through the year reveal their times of joy and fun, but also the pressures and disappointments that they have to deal with. There are scenes that are incredibly poignant. There are scenes that these kids will not want to be reminded of later in life. Mitch can be pretty uncaring—he breaks up with his girlfriend via text message. Megan can be a vindictive bitch, especially when she and her friends humiliate another girl over a boy.

There are times of pressure—getting a date for the prom, parental expectations, waiting to see if you can get into the college you want, or, for Colin, if he can impress college coaches enough to get a basketball scholarship.

Of all the stories, I found Hannah's the most interesting. Part way through the year she has an emotional meltdown that could prevent her from graduating. She is also the one in the film who has the biggest dreams—dreams that may or may not be beyond her reach. While others are looking forward to getting out of high school, out of Warsaw and into college somewhere (all of which Hannah looks forward to), she is looking toward goals that will get her the kind of life she wants. While others may have goals too, they aren't as well formed as Hannah's.

Of course it would be asking too much for a film to give us the whole feel of high school life or to give us any real depth into the personalities it shows us. I'm sure the filmmakers had hundreds of hours of film that they have condensed into just over an hour and a half, so we really only see a small slice of the experience of these teens. But it is enough to give us an impression of how today's high school students (or at least some of them) live their lives.

The film also serves to show us that there are times when parents, even loving parents, can say things that seem incredibly stupid when seen by outsiders. Even something as simple as, "you're not special" can have a devastating effect on someone in a fragile time of life.

As I watched the film, I was also aware that this kind of film really is not a fly on the wall. When cameras are inserted into a situation, their very presence alters the reality. The fact that camera were clogging the hallways of the school during the year very likely had an impact on what went on, at least to some extent. Some students might have connected with main characters in order that they could be in the film. Perhaps there were times when those being filmed either went further than they normally would in order to show off for the cameras or held back because they didn't want it on record. We can never know just how much the filming influenced the behavior, but that is an unavoidable aspect of this kind of documentary filmmaking.

This film was one of my favorites from the Newport Beach Film Festival. As I've noted, it has its flaws, but I think it serves as a good chance to see a bit of the life that teens face today. The challenges are both different and the same as when I was a teen. At the festival screening, the publicist was passing out buttons with the main teens' names on them; you could pick the one you were most like. I suppose I'd be something of a cross between Mitch (the jock) and Jake (the nerd). As you watch, you may see a bit of yourself in the teens of today.