Not really. But nice try.
The problem with this movie is that it tries to juggle so many serious teen issues and still make a Hollywood movie. Take the teen suicide, for instance, which comes early in the movie. It's so underdeveloped that you see it more as a plot point than a tragedy. The movie tries to handle topics like homosexuality with one student, but like the kid that shot himself, there isn't really much to say. It's more like the writer-director wanted to make his movie as interesting as possible, but all we get is this gay kid with a sad story and that's it! The actor who plays him has such an attitude that we can't even sympathize for him.
I thought the idea was cool. A highschool loner who just moved in from the east starts a pirate radio show and becomes the teen messiah of his angst-ridden public. But too bad all the characters are practically cardboard cutouts of punks, yuppies, shy geeks, and jocks who all have one thing in common: they can't express their innerself or something.
The only character that comes out with more than one dimension is Sarah Matheson as outgoing Nora. Her character might have been thought out more than the others, but Matheson still pulls it off masterfully.
I don't want to give this movie a total negative review, because it's on the right track. It's just too bad it's all played safe.
The problem with this movie is that it tries to juggle so many serious teen issues and still make a Hollywood movie. Take the teen suicide, for instance, which comes early in the movie. It's so underdeveloped that you see it more as a plot point than a tragedy. The movie tries to handle topics like homosexuality with one student, but like the kid that shot himself, there isn't really much to say. It's more like the writer-director wanted to make his movie as interesting as possible, but all we get is this gay kid with a sad story and that's it! The actor who plays him has such an attitude that we can't even sympathize for him.
I thought the idea was cool. A highschool loner who just moved in from the east starts a pirate radio show and becomes the teen messiah of his angst-ridden public. But too bad all the characters are practically cardboard cutouts of punks, yuppies, shy geeks, and jocks who all have one thing in common: they can't express their innerself or something.
The only character that comes out with more than one dimension is Sarah Matheson as outgoing Nora. Her character might have been thought out more than the others, but Matheson still pulls it off masterfully.
I don't want to give this movie a total negative review, because it's on the right track. It's just too bad it's all played safe.