Jean-Paul Sartre famously wrote, “Hell is other people.” He might have been more specific and written, “Hell is other people in high school.” Especially if you’re a kid like Terri. The eponymous character of this funny, sweet little film is an overweight teen who’s taken to wearing pajamas to school because “they’re comfortable.” That’s why he’s an outcast at school, but his looks might not be his biggest problem. Terri (Jacob Wysocki) lives with his Uncle James (Creed Bratton from “The Office”), who’s either half-asleep from the prescription drugs he takes, or all too active when he’s forgotten them.
A student like this would slip through the radar at most schools, but not this one: Vice Principal Mr. Fitzgerald (John C. Reilly) has an eye for the misfits, the social outcasts. He meets with them individually once a week, and Terri soon gets his own standing appointment to “shoot the breeze” over some chocolates. Mr. Fitzgerald is the first friend Terri has ever had — but the teen must learn that friendship, just like life itself, has its own complications.
| On screen |
| ‘Terri’ |
| 4 out of 5 stars |
| » Stars: Jacob Wysocki, John C. Reilly |
| » Director: Azazel Jacobs |
| » Rated: R for sexual content, language, and some drug and alcohol use — all involving teens |
| » Running time: 105 minutes |
Wysocki just started acting recently, but he has no trouble carrying this carefully made movie. Perhaps he’s gone through some of the same trials as his character; his expressive face reveals, alternately, pain, longing, surprise, and even a cockiness that comes from, in some ways, being older than your peers. Reilly is funny — as he often is — as an educator with an interesting philosophy about making men and women out of scared children. The humor here is pretty dark, but it’s necessary in a tale about some of the most miserable people around, who don’t understand their lives will actually get better one day.
Reilly gives Azazel Jacobs’ film more exposure that it would have had without the recognizable name. And it’s a good thing: The writer-director clearly has an eye and an ear for the confused rhythms of human life. He’s a talent to keep an eye on as he himself matures.
