Terri

As we know, high school can be a difficult and challenging place for even the most socially adaptive student. For those who are different in one way or another, it can be misery, and alienated students do not always find a compassionate counselor or friend to steer them through the tough times. In the movies, however, it is often a different story. We have seen several films recently about teens that have lost their way but somehow find the perfect mentor to support them. The latest example of this is Terri, a new film by Azazel Jacobs, whose 2008 Momma's Man, was a work of rare honesty about a recently married man who falls into a psychological paralysis that keeps him from accepting the reality of his adult life.

Though the genre of teen misfits has been done before, Terri looks at the situation from a different vantage point and the result is a film of unusual freshness. Based on a screenplay Jacobs wrote with novelist Patrick Dewitt, Terri brings together an unlikely friendship between Terri (Jacob Wysocki), a heavily over-sized parentless teenager who lives with his Uncle James (Creed Bratton) who is in the beginning stages of Alzheimer's, Chad (Bridger Zadina), a skinny, androgynous-looking youth with a high-pitched squeaky voice who directs his anger towards himself by pulling his hair out, and Heather ((Olivia Crocicchia), an attractive girl who has developed an unfortunate reputation around school for inappropriate sexual acting out.

Terri is consistently late to school and comes to class dressed in pajamas because he feels they are more comfortable. He is constantly teased and bullied by those who do not understand (and perhaps never will) the meaning of empathy. His behavior, while otherwise normal, can be bizarre. When his uncle asks him to set traps for mice in their attic, Terri takes the traps out into a wooded area near his suburban home and gleefully watches the dead mice being torn to shreds by devouring falcons. His tardiness and odd behavior draws the attention of the school's vice-principal Mr. Fitzgerald (John C. Reilly) who sets up sessions with Terri each week for counseling. Attempting to play the role of buddy rather than authority figure, Fitzgerald calls Terri "dude", uses "hip" language, and exchanges high-fives, but his behavior often feels strained.

Terri learns to appreciate the attention he is given, however, and, though he is tight lipped at the beginning of the meetings, he slowly begins to open up and express his feelings. Fitzgerald also has his problems at home and is not averse to sharing them with Terri. His sharing about his personal life, however inappropriate it may be for a school administrator, does provide a more level playing field and a closer relationship grows between the two people struggling to make sense of the world. An awkward late night party at Terri's house filled with drugs, alcohol, and sexual experimentation could have become a disaster, except for Terri's new found sense of self that allows him to know intuitively when to back off.

There are few dramatic movements in Terri, no sudden insights, and no startling epiphanies backed by the swelling chords of an orchestra. There is, rather, simply a growing ability of the characters to see beyond their differences to discover their common humanity. While the question of what Terri can do to lose some weight is oddly never brought up either by his mentor or his friends, Terri is a sweet, tender, and very observant film about young people coming to terms with the reality of their being different. It is not a cruel film in the slightest but one that conveys a sincere affection for its troubled characters, and the natural performances of Wysocki, Zadina, and Crocicchia make it a film to remember and cherish.

Terri comes off as your typical indie film with awkward characters dealing with unique, yet realistic situations. Several times in the film it felt as if long time micro-budget indie director Azazel Jacobs, and screenwriter Patrick Dewitt were trying to be different because that what indie films are supposed to do, but their strong cast refuses to color inside the lines and let that happen.

Newcomer Wysocki brings a true sense of realism as the title character Terri. He is an awkward outsider who doesn't fit in with the "normal" crowd in high school. After a series of late tardies and his refusal to wear anything other than pajamas to school he is sent to the principal's office where Mr. Fitzgerald (Reilly) takes an interest and gives the lost kid a sense of hope.

John C. Reilly is no stranger to the indie scene with scores of roles in smaller films including recently in Cedar Rapids and Cyrus. Reilly easily blends in as an actor into any size of film no matter how large or small. He knows when to turn up the silly, or ease into the dark side. Reilly finds the perfect balance in Terri.

The supporting cast discovers ways to make their mark as well. Bridger Zadina finds laughs as Terri's deeply disturbed new friend with scores of his own problems. Olivia Crocicchia, best known for her role as Denis Leary's daughter, Katy, on the long running television hit Rescue Me, has no trouble as the nice teenage girl slipping down the wrong path. She shows great promise, and is a role or two away from finding herself on the next big thing list. It was also nice to see Creed Bratton break away from his hilariously bizarre character on The Office. It's stunning to see him in a serious role.

Terri had many chances to slip into the pit holes that bring down any hopeful indie film, but finds away to dance over the trouble. Just when the film felt like it was being indie for Indies' sake it threw a curveball…and this is one audience member who is glad that some film's still attempt to be different.

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Terri (Jacob Wysocki) is a misfit who comes to school in his pajamas. He lives with his spaced out uncle (Creed Bratton). His vice principal Mr Fitzgerald (Jon C. Reilly) tries to reach out to him. Terri becomes friends with two other misfits. Chad (Bridger Zadina) is an angry wired loner, and Heather (Olivia Crocicchia) is the disgraced beautiful girl who got caught in a sexually permissive situation while in class.

Jacob Wysocki is playing a very low energy character. They have to figure out how to show that character in a compelling manner. Watching him getting picked on all the time wasn't such a fun watch. Bridger Zadina has a nice role as the energetic crazy little guy. I think it would have been better to start the movie with them as friends. At least the movie would have the energy to drive it along. Olivia Crocicchia does a good job as the girl. The big scene feels voyeuristic. But all three kids play their roles well. It's an odd little film. I just wish they showed what happened to their friendship after that night.

I went to go see Terri a couple of days ago. It turns out, that, that was the best decision I've made this year. Terri is an extremely heartfelt movie without ever being sobby or begging for sympathy. Jacob Wysocki as Terri, is just a marvelous choice. He portrays a strong, but lonely teen suffering from, like we all do at some point, loneliness. Who knows, he might even get nominated for an Oscar. I mean, he's still relatively new, but anything can happen.

Another performance that was particularly well played was by John C. Reilly as the equally lonely, and pretty miserable vice president of Terri's school. He and Terri begin a friendship that seems very raw and real. The supporting performances also were very good including Bridger Zadina as Chad, Terri's misfit friend who likes pulling hair out of his head. Also Creed Bratton as Terri's somewhat delusional uncle, and Olivia Crocicchia as Terri's love interest.

While I was watching Terri, I found myself laughing, not chuckling, at many of the jokes. Terri is a truly funny movie, because it's realistic humor that many people can relate to: the ups and downs of high school. But in the end, Terri isn't a movie. It's a bold statement about life. Everything in Terri is amazing; the acting, the setting, the themes. And by the end of the movie, you realize there's hope for every teenage misfit in high school, as long as they have a fraction of the heart Terri has.

The misfit in high school is a tried and true indie genre (were ANY indie filmmakers well-adjusted jocks in high school?). So one approaches yet another example of the breed with some weariness, expecting certain marks to be hit, especially when the protagonist is, as here, hugely overweight. And indeed he is unpopular with his phys ed teacher and gets more than one comment about his breasts. But all manner of subtle variations make this one unique from the start, starting with his mixed relationship with his uncle (a surprisingly touching turn by "The Office"'s Creed Bratton), whose condition - Alzheimer's? - makes him sometimes the one needing care, but whose age and fundamental compassion also make him the caretaker (in the never explained absence of Terri's parents). Perhaps because of this ambivalent situation, Terri has a strong sense of self which takes him from the start out of victim territory, prompting him, for instance, to defiantly wear pajamas to school. His relationship with John C. Reilly's assistant principal character is similarly ambivalent, since as a mentor the latter is both empowering and disappointing. The two other students who become his friends are similarly displaced yet defiant and the film is rich in both vulnerability and self-assertion. The quiet intrigues of the film are not the stuff of stirring plot, but do show Terri and his friends in their own messy, determined way becoming themselves in a way that is, almost unobtrusively, optimistic and uplifting.