Five high school students, all different stereotypes, meet in detention, where they pour their hearts out to each other, and discover how they have a lot more in common than they thought. (IMDb)
Discounting the disappointingly cliche ending romances, this is teen drama at its most authentic, dispensing with plot contrivances in favour of a dialogue-driven stage-play-like script–expertly shot and acted–that oscillates between vicious conflict and heartwarming bonding. Splashes of goofy humour (see oddball Allison’s sandwich meat toss) and feel-good shenanigans (see the dance number, hallway run), along with surges of sentimentality (see John’s parent reenactment), are tastefully added.
8/10 (Great)
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