Terri (2011)

 A poignant coming-of-age tale about Terri (Jacob Wysocki), an overweight orphan who, while struggling to find acceptance with his peers, forms an unlikely friendship with his vice principal (John C. Reilly). Turns out that both know all too well what it's really like to be alone, which makes them ideal companions for each other.

In the indie world, a coming of age teenage story is a dime a dozen. Every single year at least half a dozen of films with these similar young teenage plot points that all usually have the same feel and predictable plot point to it. Terri doesn’t stray too far off that predictable path but it decides to rely far more on developing quirky characters instead of a straight narrowed plot. It helps it be different and stand out from the rest of the pack and becomes a clear winner in the indie universe.

We are thrown into the high school years of Terri. He’s a fat, weird, pajama wearing kid who doesn’t appear to be fitting in with some of the kids at school. For many it’s a simple technique of connecting with the audience, but I never felt like we were similar, simply because he purposely seems to want to stand out. Maybe it’s because of his home-life, in which the film shows to you but never explains; it lets you fill in the blanks. Along the way, you meet Terri’s “friends” and you start to become really interested in this kid. Everything from his look and his choices are so weird that it becomes very interesting to watch him handle everyday life. All of this doesn’t span over a long period of time; its biggest strength is just throwing you into his life and essentially watching a normal two week span for him. It makes him feel authentic and the story may leave you feeling dissatisfied at first, but it’s something that lingers on and makes you ponder the sequence of events shown on screen. The life of Terri is far more entertaining than he believes it to be.

Completely unknown actor Jacob Wysocki plays the lead role and boy does he pull off a subtle but strong performance. He adds a lot of small subtle says in which he interacts with his world; its slow fully awesome. He could end up being an actor to watch if this is just the beginning for him. He seemed to work best when he had somebody to bounce off of and John C Reilly steps in and provides that. It’s a little crazy to think that the average movie watcher thinks John C Reilly is a comedic actor because the dude handles drama even better. He can be funny here, but he plays a more serious role than he appears. He kind of throws in a depressing funny that fits in well in this world of Terri’s. The two bounce of each other well and form one of the best duos on screen of the year. They alone are worth the watch. Some of the smaller roles that could have been forgettable end up genuinely adding to the film, which help the films pace feel smooth with very little wasted sequences.

Terri is a good small indie film that isn’t the strongest at times, but has such a rich cast of characters that they alone are worth a watch despite not having a normal story to follow. You wouldn’t end up missing a great film if you end up passing it by, but if you have the time and are interested, the film is satisfying.

Overall Score: 7/10