'American Teen' could shock parents

Director: Nanette Burstein

Cast: Hannah Baley, Colin Clemens, Jake Tusing

Cert: 15

Half-way through this documentary about a group of teens in a Warsaw, Indiana school the awful feeling seeps through: is this for real or is it some kind of spoof?

Give Burstein the benefit of the doubt since, whatever it is (er, it’s for real), it’s clever and thought-provoking and fun, even if all the performers, playing themselves, are straight from Central Casting.

“Get me a bunch of typical American teens,” did somebody cry, “and let’s have the full quota of high- and low-achievers, the geeks, the clever and the dim-witted, the popular and the unpopular, the jock hero … pack ‘em all in!”

Parents, not only in America, should watch this one … and reel back in horror.

Star Rating: 3/5