High school is hard enough. Even popular kids feel uncomfortable in their own skin, go through heartaches, and detentions. But for the oddballs and misfits who dare to be different, high school is a whole new level of toughness.Azazel Jacobs understands this, and directed one of the most sensitive, unsettling character studies of a teenage boy who doesn’t belong, and doesn’t care to.TerristarsJohn C. Reillyas a vivacious oddball and groundbreaking educator, with an extraordinaryJacob Wysockiplaying the titular character.
Jacobs is having a moment, with his highly anticipated family drama,His Three Daughters, justdebuting on Netflix. StarringCarrie Coon,Natasha Lyonne, andElizabeth Olsen,the New York set drama has received critical acclaim, with Jacobs and all three actresses receiving award buzz. Having previously directed acclaimed films likeFrench Exit,Terriwas Jacob’s first big announcement to the film world that he was someone to watch.Written by Patrick deWitt and based on a story by him and Jacobs,Reilly delivers a phenomenal, underrated performance, in anunshakable coming-of-age film about outcasts.
What is ‘Terri’ About?
Jacob Wysocki stars as 15-year-old Terri, a depressed high school student with no real friends, and no real ambition. A curious, sensitive soul, he lives in a crumbling house with his mentally impaired Uncle James, played byCreed Brattonin adramatic departure from his kooky performance as CreedinThe Office. When Terri begins wearing his pajamas to school, and stops participating, he lands himself on the radar of the lively school principal, Mr. Fitzgerald, played by Reilly.Mr. Fitzgerald schedules weekly meetings with Terri, where he instills worldly wisdom, while continuing to have counseling sessions with other struggling kids at the school.Terri begins to befriend other misfits he meets at the principal’s office, develops a crush on Heather Mills (Olivia Crocicchia), and begins to experience the growing pains of adolescence.
Azazel Jacobs Directs an Unsettling Character Study of a Teen Loner
Jacob Wysocki gives an audacious, controlled performanceas a 15-year-old who’s scared of just about everything.The humor of the film mostly comes in the scenes with John C. Reilly, who provides a necessary brightness to a stark story.Wysocki would go on to venture into comedy,including a memorable cameoinPitch Perfect, in addition to appearances in comedy series likeSuperstore,andI’m Dying Up Here. Here, the buds of his humor are clear in his one moment of comedy, when he dons sunglasses with his pajamas and performs a stand-up act for a moment in class and embraces being the class clown.
Terridoesn’t have any big stakes, like the prom, or massive parties. Instead, it lives in the average experience of day to day school life for Terri.Through his direction, Jacobs makes it clear that youth is not really about the big moments, it’s about the small moments.The movie rejects the classic structure of Hollywood teen movies, likeJohn Cusackdeclaring his love with a boom box inSay Anything, or a crew of students getting high and dancing to 80s beats inThe Breakfast Club. It removes that false nostalgia and comfort that everyJohn Hughesmovie provides, and instead delivers the stark truth about being a teenager. It’s still charming and funny, as Terri must deal with fellow weirdos who are subjected to counseling sessions with Mr. Fitzgerald. His most notable acquaintance is an unstable kid who can’t stop from continuously pulling out his hair and drinking, Chad (Bridger Zadina), about whom Reilly’s character hilariously keeps remarking to Terri, “There’s something wrong with that kid.”
The most personal and touching scenes ofTerriare the scenes in which he walks to school in the morning, after eating breakfast.It’s such a visceral, nostalgic moment for the viewer, as walking to and from school is such an essential part of the day for any school kid, but a moment often skipped over in coming-of-age films.InTerri, Jacobs embraces these quiet, peaceful moments for the protagonist, who, for a few moments in the sunlight venturing his way through forests on his way to school, gets to be himself.
John C. Reilly is a Hilarious, Wacky Principal Providing Wisdom to Students
John C. Reillygives one of his most sincere performances as a teacher who truly cares about his students, but is authentically imperfect, and makes mistakes.Not very talkative, Reilly’s character is essential to Terri’s quiet nerves, and livens up an at times stifling, sad movie about shyness.Fitzgerald performs screaming matches and fake fiascoeswhen Terri enters his office to throw everyone off on the true nature of their meetings, and that’s where Reilly’s trademark wildcard energy and booming comedic voice come into play.
With his sunny disposition among the isolated kids who are bullied at school, Reilly deserves to be included inthe league of other fantastic educators in filmfor his performance.The impact he has on Terri, and his ability to draw him out of his shell to embrace his unique individuality, goes against the grueling grain the school system often instills in students. Reilly shares the similar magic ofRobin Williamseducatingmisfit boarding school teens inDead Poets Society, or more recently,Paul Giamattiforming an unlikely friendship with a loner student inThe Holdovers.
Reilly delivers many impassioned monologs to Terri during their meetings, and nails the clever, attentive screenplay from deWitt.Reilly is flamboyant, boastful, and joyousas he attempts to cheer Terri up, and lets him know he’s a unique, third kind of kid all on his own, and could never be boxed into what he categorizes as “good kids, and bad kids.“He is what makes the film uplifting, with his odd speeches and anecdotes to the many misfits, who might as well be lost boys in Neverland.
‘Terri’ Is One of the Quirkiest Coming-of-Age Films of the 2010s
The developing friendship between Reilly and Wysocki is delightful to watch unfold, and their funniest scene comes when the two of them, along with the unruly Chad, attend the funeral of Mr. Fitzgerald’s former secretary. Reilly comes strutting out of his office in a sharp black suit and sunglasses, and when he learns Terri has invited Chad along for the funeral, Reilly says frankly, “Yeah, I’m going to need you to cut any weirdness there, Chad.”That’s what makes his performance and his character so great – he treats his students like real people, not just kids who get graded by letters.The cut then to the funeral, as the trio all stand silently to pay their respects to the dead secretary, with Terri wearing his black pajama set for the occasion, is another excellent example of Jacobs’s blend of comedy and drama.
Terrifalls into the wonderful category of coming-of-age movies that focus on the kids who are often just the extras in the frame, while the jocks and cheerleaders fall in love. For those who loveWes Anderson’s breakthrough film,Rushmore, starringJason Schwartzmanas a deviant, rebellious outcast, or the quietly heartbreakingThe Perks of Being a Wallflower, starringLogan Lermanas a depressed teen,Terriis the best of both worlds.It’s rambunctious, raunchy, and real, and Terri is neither a hero nor a villain, he’s just a kid making it through the school day.That’s what being in high school is all about, andTerriis one of thesmartest teen films to come out of the 2010s.Terri is a misfit teen for our times, and the film is an excellent character study of a kid desperate to belong to something, but unwilling to change himself to do so.
Terriis currently available to stream on Peacock in the U.S.
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