As Cool as I Am

7.1 of 10. As teen girl films go this year, I prefer The Truth About Emanuel (2013). By comparison, this is clearly an attempt to do another teen girl perspective film. In many ways, it succeeds in addressing important issues while still creating something amusing and sexy teens can relate to. Unfortunately, it tries to do too much and cover too much ground.

One of the many good artistic things it does that is often failed in other films is having the lead character speak in the background for added context. Here, it's done the way it should be, like hearing the character's thoughts and not trying to use it to tell the story.

Some other films this reminds me of and those who enjoy this (or those) will enjoy: Drool (2009), Rocket Science (2007), Snow Angels (2007), Lars and the Real Girl (2007), Teeth (2007), Poker House (2008), Precious (2009), and Kids (1995).

I had initially thought this movie to be a comedy. Mainly because I hadn't read the synopsis, nor scouted IMDb for information about it. All I had was seen the movie's front cover.

And now having seen the movie, I will say that, whilst this wasn't a comedy, then the movie didn't fail to entertain. This is a movie about real people with real problems ... well, or at least that is what is meant to be portrayed in the movie. And director Max Mayer actually pulled it off quite nicely, because the characters were very realistic and people you could relate to on one level or another. And the story was well-told, with a good constant flow to the storyline.

However, as good as the characters and storyline were, then the movie would be nothing without proper acting talent. And the people they had cast for the various roles in "As Cool As I Am" were really doing great jobs, each and everyone of them. The ensemble they had put together for this movie were really talented and really brought the movie to life on the screen.

If you enjoy a good drama that could very well be something straight out of someone's ordinary day-to-day life, then you most definitely should sit down to watch "As Cool As I Am".

The reason for me 'only' giving this movie a 6 out of 10 stars, is that the movie seems to be aimed mostly at a young adult / late teenager audience. But still, the movie is enjoyable and definitely worth watching regardless of your age.

"As Cool as I Am" is a well-intentioned coming-of-age story, but it seriously lacks focus. The story jumps from one thread to the next, back-and-forth between the main characters' romantic relationships, all with little clarity, understanding of character motivation or overall narrative drive. In amongst this messy storytelling are a few prominent moments: a rape scene, and a moment where a neglectful father slaps his daughter. Both of these jarring moments seem to be almost immediately forgotten about, lacking sufficient follow-up or indication of how the events affect the lives and psyche of the main characters. It's irresponsible of the filmmakers to raise sensitive themes like rape and abuse and not take the time to properly deal with or resolve them.

I've become an increasingly avid Claire Danes fan since 2011 when I became obsessive over "Homeland" – the superb TV drama she headlines – and her involvement was the main factor drawing me to "Cool", her first feature film performance in five years. Sadly it has to be said that if this is the best script Danes can find to draw her back to the big screen, she'd be better off sticking with the box.

Unfortunately for fans like myself, "Cool" doesn't offer Danes (who only gets a sketchy outline of a character at best, and is relegated to the sidelines most of the film) much of an opportunity to stretch her considerable acting muscles. Her performance actually falls flat during the major cathartic, emotional scenes in the final third. The star of the film is Sarah Bolger, who is in almost every scene of the film and leaves a real impression. She's the most genuine thing about the whole project, and her major emotional moments ring true – she even sells her main character's culinary interests which are otherwise undercooked (excuse the pun).

"Cool" has a distinctly unfinished feel. Characters (particularly Danes') make utterly baffling decisions toward the end of the film which are never resolved, and far too many threads are simply left dangling by the final frame. This sub-par, shoulder shrug of an ending leaves a feeling of redundancy around the whole film. What was the point? And another question that just has to be asked while I'm at it: what on Earth is the meaning of the film's title?

This is at tops a TV movie designed for a Sunday afternoon when you have nothing better to do. It does stray along way from Pete Fromm's book which is considerably more intense and describes the falling apart of a family in greater detail than the film. The performances were OK, James Marsden and Claire Danes gave below par performances compared to their other work. Sarah Bolger carried the role of Lucy off nicely but for obvious reason didn't commit to the character 100%. For those interested it might be worth doing a search for a Matthew J. Clark short called 'Dry Rain' based on a short story by Pete Fromm.

If you do enjoy the film it is very much worth reading the book which goes into many of the implied topics in the film in greater detail.

As Cool as I Am isn't really a gripping film, and will likely be far away from my favorites of the year, but in terms of trying to revitalize the coming-of-age drama with a delightfully contemporary idea and script is succeeds solely on that merit. It concerns Lucy (Sarah Bolger), a well-mannered fourteen year old who has a lumberjack father Chuck (James Marsden) who is away for long periods of time due to work and her mother Lainee (Claire Danes), who might as well be her age thanks to her attitude and approach to reality. Lucy always had the idea that her family was "stable" in that they functioned like a normal family. However, as she gets older, she realizes her family is a "real" one, with problems and conflicts that are usually not instantly noticed by kids. This whole idea of "stable" and "real" families is discussed in the opening monologue, pretty much admitting the film will not be a narrow look at this common issue that is quickly growing.

That issue is having a child at a young age. Chuck and Lainee had Lucy when they were both seventeen, making them not much older than her in retrospect, leaving most of their decisions to be rather impulsive and quite questionable. For such a contemporary issue - having children and kids young and, often, out of wedlock - this one is scarcely brought up and thrown into public eye. Director Max Mayer, of the 2009 sleeper-hit Adam, brings a mature and focused look to the subject by allowing each character some expression and a moment when their personality comes out.

Lucy is already becoming a young woman, and with an unstable family life and an absent father, this leads her on a path she wouldn't normally take. She becomes more flirtatious, acts differently around her guy friends, and on several occasions almost consents to sex. This plot alone wages the question "are teens more likely to become rebellious if they do not have both parents playing a significant role in their life?" When her father returns home, and realizes that Lucy has, for one, driven the car unsupervised after her mother arrives at an interview, and has gone on to kiss several different boys, he becomes mad and very violent out of nowhere. That's his moment to shine; would his anger be so prominent and consuming if he had been home consistently? The only other main character is the mother, whose reckless behavior is almost as bad as her husband's absence. She becomes flirtatious at the office, even so far as to have sex with a co-worker not long after beginning to work there. After finding this out, Lucy can use this as bait to justify her actions rather than be awkwardly silent when he mother ridicules her for her behavior. The character's actions are one big, tangled cycle that only fuel and unintentionally elaborate on each others decisions.

As Cool as I Am asks a lot of questions and, in the end, quietly leaves the audience with deteriorating optimism that maybe Lucy will end up unsatisfied later in life, and at only fourteen, this idea likely hasn't crossed her mind. Writer Virginia Korus Spragg does a smooth job at developing the characters on the surface and subtly evoking commentary on the new generation of kids, many of whom likely to be raised by a more uncertain, rushed generation of people. I see another cycle coming along.

Starring: Claire Danes, James Marsden, and Sarah Bolger, and Jon Tenney. Directed by: Max Mayer.