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American Teen Movie Cast, Plot and Everything to Know

Amy Renner Amy Renner

Dec. 21, 2008

American Teen

Release Date: Friday, July 25, 2008

Elisa Pugliese, Nanette Burstein, Mitch Reinholdt, Jake Tusing, Hannah Bailey, Colin Clemens, Molly Thompson, Megan Krizmanich, Nancy Dubuc

PG-13 Documentary 1 hr, 40 m

  • 2.7

92%

8%

Plot

What's the story about?

Plot
"American Teen" is the touching and hilarious Sundance hit that follows the lives of five teenagers - a jock, a popular girl, a heartthrob, an artsy girl and a geek – in one small town in Indiana through their senior year of high school. We see the insecurities, the cliques, the jealousies, the first loves and heartbreaks, and the struggle to make profound decisions about the future. Filming daily for ten months, filmmaker Nanette Burstein developed a deep understanding of her subjects. The result is a film that goes beyond the enduring stereotypes of high school to render complex young people trying to find their way into adulthood. Hannah Bailey is smart and beautiful, but a misfit in her high school. She is a liberal, atheist living in a traditional, Christian, conservative town and dreams of moving to California after graduation. Colin Clemens is the star of the high school basketball team - and in Indiana, basketball is everything. Colin is under enormous pressure this year playing not only to make his town, his school, and his father proud, but for a college scholarship. Jake Tusing is considered to be a nerd in high school. Though quite funny and charming one-on-one, he is painfully shy in group situations and crushed with self-doubt. In his senior year he vows that nothing will stand in the way of him finding a girlfriend. Megan Krizmanich is the student council Vice President and the youngest daughter of a prominent local surgeon, anxiously awaiting word from Notre Dame University admissions. Wealthy, pretty, smart and popular, she rules her high school - just don't get on her bad side. When Megan's peers challenge her authority, she can't help but take action, even if it means risking her future. Mitch Reinholdt is an attractive and charming Varsity basketball jock with a soft side. When he puts his social status on the line, avoiding his popular friends for dates with artsy Hannah Bailey, he strains to maintain his reputation while discovering a new side of himself. With extraordinary intimacy and a great deal of humor, "American Teen" captures the pressures of growing up – pressures that come from one's peers, one's parents, and not least, oneself.
Documentary Teen

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Top Cast

The lead cast starring in American Teen.

Crew Behind the Film

The American Teen behind-the-scenes crew and production team.

The film's director Nanette Burstein last directed Going the Distance and The Kid Stays in the Picture.

Screenwriters
Producers
Nancy Dubuc
Elisa Pugliese
Molly Thompson

Additional Information

MPA Rating
PG-13 Parents Strongly Cautioned for some strong language, sexual material, some drinking and brief smoking--all involving teens
Runtime
1 hr, 40 m
Tagline
Not available
Also known as
Not available
Language
English

All Trailers

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Production Details

What we know about the American Teen movie production.

Production Updates

Completed

The film was tagged as Completed.

Release Dates

When was the film released?

American Teen was released in on Friday, July 25, 2008. There were 3 other movies released on the same date, including The X-Files: I Want to Believe, Step Brothers and Brideshead Revisited.



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Sun., Dec. 21, 2008

  • Added the soundtrack release date of July 15, 2008

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