Synopsis
Terri, a pajama-clad, disaffected high school student learns how to engage the world with the help of Mr. Fitzgerald, his assistant principal.
2011 Directed by Azazel Jacobs
Terri, a pajama-clad, disaffected high school student learns how to engage the world with the help of Mr. Fitzgerald, his assistant principal.
Jacob Wysocki John C. Reilly Creed Bratton Olivia Crocicchia Bridger Zadina Mary Anne McGarry Justin Prentice Jenna Gavigan Curtiss Frisle Tara Karsian Diane Salinger Jessica D. Stone Jamie Lee Redmon Tim Heidecker Robert Towers Melanie Abramoff Jeffrey Noah Silcock Lisa Hoover Josh Perry Eddie Pepitone
Terri, o atairiastos, Terri テリー, Терри, Cậu Bé Terri, 泰瑞, טרי, Тери, 테리
Terri is a high school teen misfit drama that is just plain sad until the sadness is relieved. Jacob Wysocki is the titular fat kid who begins to wear pajamas to school because he claims “they’re comfortable” but really is just a pretense for his depression. He has a senile Uncle at home (Creed Bratton), and at school, well, nobody likes him. But John C. Reilly as the outlandish assistant principal Fitzgerald sets aside time to befriend Terri during school hours. Reilly’s supporting performance is an exceptional mix of goofy but stern; the rapport is special. Then there’s Heather (Olivia Crocicchia) who is both pretty and decimated by such low self-esteem that she needs a Terri type to redeem her.…
Life's a mess, dude, but we're all just doing the best we can. So if I lied to you, all I can tell you is I'm sorry and I'll try to do better... I screw up all the time because that's what people do.
-Mr. Fitzgerald
A great little film populated by real people that are a bit damaged and flawed. Even if you weren't an outcast like Terri (Jacob Wysocki) or Heather (Olivia Crocicchia) you can still identify with them because their characters seem so real.
If we weren't them in school, then we were friends with them, or we knew of them. Either way these are people we know. They are portrayed in such an honest and truthful…
It starts off like your average coming of age film, but it progresses into something much more. The story is told in such a sincere and true way that a lot of it ends up being more true than most coming of age films. You can easily look at these characters and relate to them; they remind you of your own journey's in high school. I mean, whether we want to admit it or not, we've all been a Terri at least once in our lives. Not because he's a heavy set guy or he's a social outcast, but because we've all been through that awkward point in our lives as we discover things about ourselves during our teen years.…
67/100
[originally written for the Nashville Scene]
Two decades later, Heathers remains the gold standard for caustic high school satire. But there's always been an irritating whiff of condescension permeating its sappy epilogue, in which Winona Ryder's triumphant Veronica oh-so-magnanimously befriends universal object of ridicule Martha Dumptruck, whose sole defining trait is that she's enormously fat. I remember thinking at the time that a truly subversive movie—one that really wanted to shock viewers out of their complacency—would make an unattractive outcast like Martha Dumptruck its protagonist, as opposed to just a means for this year's sex symbol to score some brownie points. Merely acknowledging such a character's conflicted humanity would qualify as courageous.
Well, hey, it only took 22 years.…
A sad little thing that I probably just wasn't in the mood for. The almost total lack of score and runtime being about half an hour too long didn't help its cause, and I can't say I was enamoured by the main chap either, despite the film's constant attempts to make me so. Meh.
All the most unorthodox moments happening from Terri's perspective are what make Terri stand out from most coming-of-age movies from this period, but Azazel Jacobs captures that awkwardness from being forced into the "outcast" position so beautifully, it results in a greater melancholy. Jacob Wysocki plays Terri like someone whom we knew, but maybe never paid much attention to, and seeing everything unfold from his eyes for being forced there just makes him feel so relatable.
But even in those moments of awkwardness, there's still a great deal of joy to be found especially in John C. Reilly's character - because of his dedication to being such a character. This isn't anything that we haven't seen before, but that feeling of a real perspective is one that's always welcomed.
Part of A Film A Day
Acting/Performances: 79/100
Cinematography: 72/100
Storyline: 66/100
Screenplay: 81/100
Soundtrack: 88/100
Entertainment Value: 72/100
Average Score: 76/100
The debate whether to give Terri 4 stars or 3.5 was a tough one. While it may be an accurate showcase of social anxiety, and the pursuit to fit in, the film never reaches any heights on an emotional level. Throughout the film, it gets increasingly harder to feel sympathetic towards the characters (much like Greenberg). Subsequently, because of this loss of connection, the film's quality is deteriorated so much more; as the films begs for you to relate with Terri. But, saying this, though the story is generic, Azazel Jacobs provides a sort of energy which keeps…
Terri really reminded me of when I was in my teens and how awkward I felt being around people. It's not just the character I identified with but the movie itself, I felt that it had a lot to say, no matter how you look at it we are all damaged by the things we've done or what's done to us. All we can really do is try to help those who are the same way. I wish I had more people like Mr.Fitzgerald in my life growing up, I felt the chemistry between John C Rielly and Jacob Wysocki was pretty tight and real. The film really hit me on an emotional level, Azazel Jacobs does a fine job bringing the story to screen. Really look forward to whatever he does next.
Facing high school is one of the most overdone, cliched topics in film, and Terri succeeds with this topic by taking an extremely honest approach with fantastic technical aspects. I love the soundtrack of the movie - from the original score which is tragically not available for digital anywhere.
I've been scrubbing to scenes throughout the week for certain instrumentals. Mandy Hoffman composes its classical style, and the film incorporates the musical abilities of Creed Bratton for some sick piano pieces which he created. Loved the endcredits song. Speaking of Bratton, I've never seen The Office US but Bratton is phenomenal as Terri's uncle - another storyline of his older age and deterioration taking a different approach than some of…