Jawline

In a nutshell: Austyn, a teen, wants to become rich without work.

Austyn's inane message is "I have positivity, so I'll get famous and rich, and then influence others to become positive", repeated ad-nauseam.

Sadly, Austyn's single mom, and older brother, enforce his delusion.

If children are our future, and children are as depicted in this documentary, then our future is dire indeed!

The vocabulary of the teens featured in this documentary doesn't surpass 100 words, with every other word being "like".

They spew the same platitudes over and over again, like broken records.

These teens are obviously uneducated, and lazy. The problem is, there's no one there to set them straight.

Parents need to do a better job raising their progeny!

Teachers no longer have any authority, so they can't discipline these brats any more.

I live in the same town as Austin and the movie portrays Kingsport as something it's not. The town is very much not rural. Most would argue that we actually live in a bubble of wealth because of the Eastman Chemical Company. I actually went to school with Austin and when people found out about the movie the laughed at the idea of it. The movie is very far from the truth so I wouldn't believe a thing about it. If you really want to watch a inspiring movie don't watch this. They stretch the truth to a very jarring degree.

What a terrible way to depict today's youth. The subject of this "film" has NO substance - he spouts bland tripe to garner attention from (mostly) girls who are looking for attention themselves. Everything that's being featured here is so mentally unhealthy. I feel sorry for everyone in this movie and I hope they get the psychological help they so desperately need.

"I'm my own boss, my own editor, my own shooter, my own writer, everything. This is all stuff I learned through trial and error... failing at a lot of things has taught me how to succeed at them eventually... you roll with the punches." Lily Singh, influencer

It doesn't take much to be cynical about the instant fame of broadcast influencers like the protagonist of the powerful, perceptive, and sometimes depressing documentary Jawline, directed with insight and care by Liz Mandelup. Austin Tester, a 16-year-old Tennessee social media personality, is struggling to keep the thousands of fans who connect with him online.

In the four or so years chronicled by this objective and compassionate doc, Austin goes from the high of being recognized and rushed by scores of teens and tweens whenever he appears in public to scrounging for "likes."

Handsome he is, not as articulate or charismatic as my friend Derek, whose fans get more wit than they deserve. D has got talent.

While Austyn seems to decline in hits and energy as well as high school credit, he stays dedicated to his craft of expressing positivity, as his manager, barely older, demands he do all the time. Hovering around is the distant smell of failure, if not now but inevitably, for the competition is just as fierce as in entertainment in general, and Austyn is just not that talented.

Making it here and anywhere is not a given. For Sinatra it always was, but that was a talent given by the gods.

See Jawline if you want to experience teen passion in an audience that similarly adored Frank. If like me you can stand only so many wasteful words like "like," then start your own YouTube channel and see how few "like" you. It's rough out there.

This has got to be the cringiest thing ever. Nobody want's to hear about a 16 year olds "teenage girl lust". That is disgusting.