Terri

"Life's a mess dude, we're all just doing the best we can"

Terri is one of those sleeper indie flicks that fly under the radar. A film firmly about 'The teenage years' in all their awkwardness and comic tragedy, Terri tells the story of a social outsider (played by Jacob Wysocki) who gets befriended by his school pincipal (John C. Reilly). It's about the kids who get treated like monsters because they're that little bit different, and the teacher who wants to help them by teaching them self-esteem and self-respect. It's a bit like Rushmore, only the unlikely friendship between student and teacher isn't built on any veins of intellectualism. Terri is a large but gentle boy who lives with his mentally ill uncle and wears pyjamas to school, and John C. Reilly is less the urbane and burnt out teacher and more a working class man with genuinely good intentions (despite his own personal issues).

This isn't really a coming-of-age film in the typical sense, as Terri's story isn't really a point of viewer identification. Terri is about school life for the different, with all the elements of bullying and freedom of choice thrown in for good measure. It's very much a film of happy sadness, striking a carefully negotiated tone that evokes some degree of awkward nostalgia and realistic comedy. Terri is an observer with no real agency, and his journey is primarily about getting him to a point where he can think and act independently with confidence.

The highlight of the film is quite easily John C. Reilly as Mr. Fitzgerald. Reilly just does his usual thing, which is entertainment in itself, but it makes for a great teacher and it's quite easy to imagine Reilly as a real-life teacher. In a way Terri is really a film about Mr. Fitzgerald, a real life hero just doing his job in helping the disenfranchised. Anyway, this is a great and underrated film that hasn't garnered the attention it deserves, both genuinely funny and genuinely moving. It doesn't have any real edge that makes it unique, it's just a really well made film that doesn't fall into cliches.

DIRECTOR: Azazel Jacobs
WRITER/SOURCE: Patrick DeWitt
KEY ACTORS: John C. Reilly, Jacob Wysocki, Bridger Zadina, Creed Batton, Olivia Crocicchia

RELATED TEXTS:
- Azazel Jacobs has made three other feature length films; Nobody Needs to Know, The GoodTimes Kid and Momma's Man, all of which were low budget and independently made.
- See also the TV series Freaks and Geeks, and other films about teenage awkwardness and independence such as Rushmore, Precious, Angus, Local Color, Thumbsucker and Motel.

AWARDS
Sundance Film Festival - nominated for Grand Jury Prize.