There is much to be admired in Stephen Chbosky’s film of his novel THE PERKS OF BEING A WALLFLOWER, but what struck me the most was how terribly likable it was. Its very flavor – if it had one in the manner of the “rasas” of the ancient Sanskrit drama – would be enjoyability. Of what is this enjoyability compounded?

On the surface, it is a coming of age story, told in voiceover by a kid called Charlie, who first handwrites and then taps out on a classic manual typewriter the story of his freshman year in high school. Since this is the early ‘90s, that is not unusual, and part of the enjoyability comes from a nostalgia for – or, if one is too young for that, an evocation of – what adolescence was like before the ubiquity of word processing, cell phones and texting. Finding one’s friends didn’t happen online; it had to be face-to-face; or phone call to phone call; you had to physically go places and insert yourself, if you could, into the social group you wanted to be a part of, on bleachers at the game, or around a table in the cafeteria. But one’s enjoyment is all the greater if the nostalgia is ironically for the bad as well as the good, if one is made – as I was – to miss the cliques and the bullies and the Vice Principal as well as the upper classman who took you under his wing, the girl in the back row, and the teacher who went the extra mile to nurture your dreams.

Then to that carefully balanced nostalgia – which isn’t limited to any particular generation – is added the generous talent and charisma of a young cast that is easy to relate to regardless of one’s age. Logan Lerman plays the bookish wallflower who is taken in by a group of unconventional seniors played by Emma Watson (convincing as the smart free spirit who, despite having a boyfriend, simply adores the new young addition to the group), Ezra Miller (bringing great flair to the part of an “obviously gay” teenager finding his way through those difficult shoals), and Mae Whitman (arousing great sympathy as the girl who fancies herself a Buddhist and asks Charlie to the Sadie Hawkins dance). They are about as appealing as a bunch of misfits can be; if anything, they are a little too appealing – how could they not be the most popular kids in their class if not the school?

For that and other reasons THE PERKS OF BEING A WALLFLOWER is not a perfect movie. But if one thinks of it as realizing the voiceover letter writer’s sentimentalizing of his own memories, much that could be criticized in isolation seems less a flaw than an essential ingredient. This film is just plain enjoyable if you let it be, and there is plenty of depth and complexity to savor as well.

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