The truth is that Zeke definitely does care. He’s still in love with Mo’s sister and he doesn’t know how to take responsibility for himself. He lives in the past, hoping to rest on his high-school laurels forever. He tries to make up for that by looking out for Mo, but isn’t always successful, especially when it counts the most. Mo grows up over the course of the film, and Zeke doesn’t. It’s tragicomic brilliance that’s immensely relatable.
The dialogue in the movie is hilarious, and I wonder if some of the scenes are improvised. Everything that is said in the film comes across so naturally that I wouldn’t be surprised if that is the case. There isn’t a single wooden performance in the entirety of Big Time Adolescence. I already thought Pete Davidson was interesting, what with his dating track record and series of questionable tattoos, but now I think he’s a pretty excellent actor and comedian.
“…relatable to a lot of kids and young adults all over the country.”
Griffin Gluck, who I first saw in Dinner In America (which is another superb movie and Gluck’s performance is hilarious so check it out), shines in his role of Mo as well. The supporting cast of Sydney Sweeney (who seems to be in everything, but no complaints), Oona Laurence, Thomas Barbusca, Colson Baker, aka Machine Gun Kelly, and especially the one and only Jon Cryer are all incredible.
I gave this movie a ten because I get it. I was there. I was both kids. I was the teenager who got into trouble with older kids, and I was the older kid that got the teenagers into trouble. The story of Big Time Adolescence is relatable to a lot of kids and young adults all over the country. One’s teens and early twenties are a crazy time of self-discovery, and the film touches on all of that. There are a lot of milestones like the first car, first kiss, first tattoo, and more.
I think Jason Orley gets it too, and I wonder if he was the teenager or the twenty-something, or both. The lesson that one can garner from Big Time Adolescence is that change is necessary for progress to happen. That’s not always fun, but it has to happen either way.
"…He lives in the past, hoping to rest on his high-school laurels forever."
