This quiet film stealthily approaches some rather profound questions about growing up, finding an identity, maturing, and developing a sense of responsibility—and it just kind of leaves them there, unanswered. That's not to say the film is without merit. Mark Duplass is perfectly cast as Sam, the 30something "true adolescent" who finds himself without a job, a girlfriend, or a home. While crashing at his aunt's place, he gets recruited to chaperone his cousin and his cousin's best friend on a camping trip. A silly prank in the middle of the trip accidentally uncovers a delicate moment, which propels much of the subsequent action of the film even as its importance remains marginalized and only tangentially alluded to as the movie progresses toward an inconclusive resolution. "True Adolescents" is what I would call a "problem film"—but one I enjoyed nonetheless (even though I still can't decide whether I actually like Mark Duplass).
Review of True Adolescents
