I met and spoke with the The Myth of the American Sleepover director-writer David Robert Mitchell just before the noon screening of Carlos, and also with some of the cast members. Myth goes against the grain of your typical teen-relationship flick by being much smarter, better acted, more subtle and not reliant on animal-level humor (or animal-level sensibilities in the seats). I wrote earlier that “nothing feels written or faked…each and every scene has a natural ease and honesty.”

(l. to r.) Myth of the American Sleepover director-writer David Robert Mitchell, Jade Ramsey (Ana), Brett Jacobsen (Scott), Nikita Ramsey (Ady), Claire Sloma (Maggie) and Amanda Bauer (Claudia). Taken around 11:10 am at the American Pavillion.

It goes without saying that a teen movie of this calibre is doomed to fail because it’s not coarse or stupid enough….kidding! Well, half-kidding. I’d like to at least see it do better than She’s Out My League. What is it about under-25 Eloi seeming to prefer movies packed with tedious cliches and sometimes even recoiling when something fresh and true and semi-original (like Myth) comes along?

Here’s my favorite review of the film, by Screen Daily‘s Howard Feinstein.

The recording is typically loose and unrefined. I could have chopped off the flat portions if I’d had an extra hour to kill, but I didn’t. I never do. It is what it is.