For the first 10 minutes or so of "The Art of Getting By," I detested the movie's main character, a depressed, whiny and annoying 17-year-old high school senior going through an existential crisis.
Despite living in a multi-million dollar Manhattan apartment, going to a ritzy high school where apparently you can refer to your teachers by their first names and in general having a charmed life, George (Freddie Highmore, the kid from "Finding Neverland" and "Charlie and the Chocolate Factory," now a gawky teenager) doesn't see the point of, well, anything.
As the movie opens, George morosely opines that everyone is going to die eventually anyway, so why do school work, have friends or care about what college you're going to attend?
Of course, George's teachers don't take his fatalistic attitude too well, especially when he stops turning in homework or paying attention in class. George soon draws the ire of his principal (Blair Underwood), who has to go down as one of the most patient school administrators in movie history.
About the time I started to peek at my watch to see how much more of the annoying George I would have to endure, a funny thing happened: The kid started to get less annoying and actually interesting.
That's probably because he meets two people: A lovely female classmate, Sally, (a radiant Emma Roberts) and a 20-something abstract painter Dustin (Michael Angarano) who sees talent in George's drawings and encourages him to pursue his art.
Finding something you love to do and someone to actually love turns out to be the best curative for the existential blues, something that writer-director Gavin Wiesen's wise script knows. A love triangle of sorts forms, with both George and Dustin falling for Sally.
What I liked about the film is how the characters act unexpectedly but always realistically. The insecure George can't believe a beauty like Sally would be interested in him.
For his part, Dustin ? who in a lesser film would be a slimy jerk, but here is a basically decent person ? knows his young friend is in love and gives the teen every chance to pursue his muse.
And you can see Underwood's principal character actually grow to like and be genuinely concerned about George, whom he sees as possessing so much potential. It's refreshing to see an educator actually deeply care about his students in a movie.
Highmore, who was so effective in "Neverland," excels at making George vulnerable and likable when he's not forced to whine about the pointlessness of life. When he gets his heart broken, only the most hard-hearted cynic couldn't feel horrible for the kid. He's the cinematic equivalent of a cute puppy begging for a treat.
Good too is the chemistry between Highmore and Roberts. The movie is at its best when they are on screen together ? flirting, talking about their fears and hopes. They're terrific together.
The film ends on a contrived note, especially when you consider how steely-eyed and realistic the rest of the movie is, but it's still satisfying, especially if you believe in the Hollywood fairy tale of true love.
So go see "The Art of Getting By." It's a rare film about teenagers that's smart, funny and ultimately satisfying.
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