The Perks Of Being Wallflower is a movie based on the coming-of-age novel by Stephen Chbosky which, was released September 2012. The film was directed by the novels author and it’s a beautiful mix of comedy, drama and romance. I can’t explain how much I love this film, from the begging to the end it accurately shows what it’s like to be a teenager in school and the pressures you face to fit in and belong.

1) It’s Relatable

Even though the film is set in the early 1990s, teenagers in today’s generation can relate to the movie because the problems that they face in the movie are ones that occur today. Serious issues like sexual abuse, suicide, substance abuse and homophobia are shown in the film and these things could happen or have happened to people like you and me. It’s important we discuss these issues like sexual abuse and see it from a male’s point of view.

2) The Amazing Characters 

Sam, Charlie and Patrick are the greatest trio of best friends. Logan Lerman, Emma Watson and Ezra Miller play the roles of their characters amazingly and Logan even kept himself isolated for 2 weeks so he could get into the character of Charlie accurately. Charlie is a sensitive 15-year old who doesn’t have any friends after his best friend committed suicide in middle school and you can see the great bond he has with Sam and Patrick and the rest of the gang.

3) The Living Room Routine

During the school dance, Come On Eileen by Dexys Midnight Runners plays and Sam and Patrick begin to perform their ‘Living Room routine’ on the middle of the dance floor. This is one of the greatest scenes in the movie and you can see how Sam and Patrick couldn’t care less about what the rest of the students think about it.

4) The Great Songs

The soundtrack of this movie has some great songs and it was the first time I heard a song by The Smiths, who are my favourite band. Their track ‘Asleep’ is Charlie’s favourite song in the movie and also one of my favourite songs by the band. Other great tunes include Low by Cracker and of course the tunnel song, which is Heroes by David Bowie. 

5) The Quotes

The Perks Of Being A Wallflower contains some amazing quotes that inspire and target the teenage audience and, like most people, my favourite quote in the whole movie is in Charlie’s last monologue:

“Because I know there are people who say all these things don’t happen. And there are people who forget what it’s like to be sixteen when they turn seventeen. I know these will all be stories some day, and our pictures will become old photographs. We all become somebody’s mom or dad. But right now, these moments are not stories. This is happening. I am here, and I am looking at her. And she is so beautiful. I can see it. This one moment when you know you’re not a sad story. You are alive. And you stand up and see the lights on the buildings and everything that makes you wonder. And you’re listening to that song, and that drive with the people who you love most in this world. And in this moment, I swear, we are infinite.”
― Stephen Chbosky, The Perks of Being a Wallflower

No words can explain how much I love the last line “And in this moment, I swear, we are infinite”. This quote could mean a lot of different things for different people but for me It means being at peace with yourself and forgetting about all the pain and heartache you’ve been though in the past and living in the moment! Another quote I love from the movie/book is “We accept the love we think we deserve”, which has really stuck with me since I watched the movie.

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