All Critics (145)
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Top Critics (37)
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Fresh (123)
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Rotten (22)
Perks seems like the work of a much more experienced director, maintaining fidelity to the source material without sacrificing any cinematic qualities, triggering genuine sentimentality and nostalgia through interaction between sound and image.
Regardless of the viewer's proximity to his or her own high school experience, "Perks" seems to get it right, precisely because it's not about a specific time or place.
It's an earnest indie about a troubled teen, Charlie (Logan Lerman), and his various troubled confederates -- but it does demonstrate that Watson can stand on her own.
High school can be hell, but Stephen Chbosky's engaging new film argues that anyone can get by with a little help from their friends.
Somehow, these imperfections fit. Somehow, "The Perks of Being a Wallflower" shouldn't be flawless.
This somewhat disjointed but refreshingly earnest movie ultimately establishes itself as a charmer.
Boasts one of 2012's best live-wire performances in the form of Ezra Miller's exuberantly gay high school senior.
This profound story of love and friendship is apparently fiction, but it sure comes across with the power of a true story. It seems a lot truer to me than some based-on-fact movies like 'Argo.'
While most films about teenage life tend to trade on a nifty hook, and sometimes even a plot, The Perks of Being a Wallflower chimes in as an unusually incisive, character-driven ramble through the inevitable awkwardness of teen life.
Logan Lerman is outstanding in this well done coming of age tale.
Rings inauthentic throughout.
The Perks of Being a Wallflower is funny, nostalgic, heartfelt and sweet, and so vivid it will practically make you feel the warm summer wind in your hair.
I think for a first film this guy who wrote the book and has adapted it for the screen has done a terrific job and I really found these characters sympathetic.
Something's missing in this film. It just feels constructed and flat. And I found the casting uninspired as well.
Even making allowances for a certain amount of Hollywood gloss, there's something wrong with a film about misfits where everyone is this good-looking and poised.
A stellar adaptation and a beautifully crafted coming-of-age tale that comes wrapped in all the promise and possibility of adolescence.
A funny, heartfelt if admittedly formulaic feature that boasts first rate performances and a genuine affection for its characters.
Miller and Watson are in their element here, helping to shore up Chbosky's sophomore effort, which is likely to offer a pivotal moment in time for its leads.
Chbosky's adaptation from his semi-autobiographical best selling novel is a zinger of a screenplay, and he directs it with verve and sensitivity. Charlie's journey is beautifully conveyed and it's done without sentimen
Funny and sad, involving and moving, this quirkily named film with its mixed cocktail of characters offers more than you expect
Humbling experience and despite whatever generation you hark from there is the common ground of having lived through those teenage years and this film revels in those magic moments and the people that help form who we are.
It's adolescent life, without the gloss but the resonant joy of freeze-framed fist pumps.
The only misfire involves the trio's search for a mystery song. The fact that this shower has heard of Nick Drake but not David Bowie is really beyond belief.
...parents and teens might not want to watch it together, but they sure will want to talk about it afterwards.
One of the year's most agreeable surprises on every level.
A dewy early 1990s coming-of-age tale that is remarkable for its sensitivity and earnestness, even if its post-Salinger stations of the cross are almost entirely familiar.
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