The perks of being a wallflower is a roller coaster of emotion as it is both heartwarming and heartrending at once. The film is based on the critically acclaimed novel by Stephen Chbosky. Logan Lerman gives an astonishing performance as  the main character, Charlie; a freshman student in high school that is struggling with the problems that the typical chick flick movies do not show.

The perks of being a wallflower is a coming of age movie that represents the importance of unity and self belonging. The film starts off with the first day of highschool,after a rough summer vacation including several rides to the hospital. Charlie prays to make it till senior year. His prayers are answered when he meets Patrick, an inside the closet, quirky gay man, and his step sister Sam; Emma Watson’s first mayor role after her Harry Potter success . Both of them welcome Charlie to the island of misfit toys and since then, Charlie begins a journey of self discovery.

The movie touches subjects such as mental illnesses, love, relationship abuse, and puberty. This is a film that gives hope to every single wallflower out there, and it reistates that it is possible to survive high school, just like Charlie. He found his tribe, and then himself. The perks of being a wallflower stands out from any teenage movie since it touches subjects that every single teenager feels but  is not able to talk about.

This is not a movie about the jocks, and the geeks, this is not a movie about the new kid trying to make it to the top. This is a movie about self actualization and achieving one’s full potential. Movies such as Mean Girls, Easy A, and She is the man are movies about high school, but all of these movies give a vague description and a cliche look of what highschool is really like. On the other hand, Charlie portrays the typical teenager with no filter. Movies such as Easy A are fun to watch, but they don’t stay with you after the movie is over. Charlie’s letters, thoughts, and emotions stay with you forever. Every single teenager can relate to this movie in more than one aspect, and you can learn so much about yourself just from it. Cady’s first day of high school in Mean Girls was described as a jungle, where she experienced a lot of drama and she was amazed by the cliques and the popular kids. This doesn’t resemble reality at all. On the other hand, Charlie’s first day was as average as it can be, no drama, no interest on becoming popular.

This movie portrays perfectly the book since Mr. Chbosky is the director himself. He brings the 1999 book alive by combining the power of writing with the cinematic points of views.  Watching Logan Lerman in Percy Jackson, led me to think of him as a bland actor with no evident talent. However, his role in The Perks of being a Wallflower astonished the public. Logan Lerman is a starting revelation on the film, making everyone feel what Charlie is going through with his mental illness on the film. I do have to say that the movie is kind of slow, and there are coming of age movies that are more dynamic such as Stuck in Love in which Logan Lerman acts with Lily Collins. However, there is a beauty on watching the day to day life, and the day to day letters that Charlie writes to his dear friend.

All in all, The perks of being a wallflower is a 5 star movie because it gives hope to every misfit in society, it tells the story of an ordinary boy struggling with self esteem. It is relatable in so many levels, and it shows the sad but at the same time beautiful reality of growing up. It is a true masterpiece of self discovery and self love.