Big Time Adolescence

Rarely in Big Time Adolescence does anything feel canned or beyond the realm of the credible. All the characters in the film seem to have inner lives; we believe that they exist past the confines of the film. It’s a pleasure to be in their warm and appealing company, even as the proceedings take a turn for the mildly dire.

Davidson expertly plays the role like he’s playing . . . well, Pete Davidson, which is how I imagine his career will go.

It is funny and fast paced, with an outstanding cast, and Orley modulates the tone well, conveying both the fun and the danger of being young, impulsive and poorly supervised.

A debauched but heartfelt coming-of-age story about impressionable teenage boys and the imperfect male role models who influence them. Davidson’s most important skill is his ability to share the spotlight and create real chemistry with his co-stars.

Even when Big Time Adolescence starts to become ordinary, it always has a freshness from its on-screen talent, and from the promise of Orley’s directorial eye.

Orley’s screenplay borrows from several sources and is never quite wrestled into the same shape as the legions of better movies on this boy-comes-of-age theme that preceded it.

Despite some moments of tenderness and easy chemistry between Zeke and Mo, “Big Time Adolescence” doesn’t have enough heart or humor to save it from becoming just another movie about white dudes bro-ing out.

A well-done movie based around subtle character development. The chemistry between characters strongly contributes to the easy-going atmosphere.

I actually really enjoyed this movie, Pete Davidson was constantly funny through out, you end up kind of feeling bad for his character even though he's a "bad guy". Also, depicts what drugs & alcohol do to your life, even if you're not using them, you will become a loser if you associate yourself with losers.

This was a great and fun movie. I had the pleasure of working as an extra on the film and you can see me blurred out in the background in one of the school scenes. Pretty cool stuff. Anyway, to objectively review the film, I thought it was very pleasant and well-done. It’s an indie coming-of-age/unconventional buddy movie where a 16-year old boy idolizes his sister’s ex-boyfriend, as an older brother and best friend. But, he’s a burnout and loser, living a life of partying, drugs, and alcohol. I can predict a lot of what would happen, but my expectations aren’t completely high either. It’s a fun independent film that showcases Davidson’s excellent acting skills and typecast as the likeable scumbag. It also features Thomas Barbusca (of *Wet Hot American Summer: First Day of Camp*), Jon Cryer, and Sydney Sweeney (of *Once Upon a Time… in Hollywood*). There’s some good laughs, nice cinematography, and an enjoyable experience.

Griffin Gluck plays a teen who idolizes a dropout druggie (Pete Davidson). They hang together and have a good time, which eventually leads to more serious complications. This is Davidson's movie. Even as his character becomes more toxic, his loser charm is endearingly sweet and even a bit touching. Gluck is also commendable, as he struggles with being cool, while going against his own better judgment. This is ultimately a bromance with liberal accents of humor, but it's Davidson who makes the movie worth watching.

There is something highly annoying about this movie. I'm not sure if it's the protagonist and his mirror character, the real world actor, making this out to be some kind of delusional 'rock-star' auto-biography or it's the complete cringe of the stereotypical plot. Either way, save yourself from this waste of a film.