Common Sense Media Review
By Tracy Moore
,
based on child development research. How do we rate?
Teen-film-genre docu features sex, profanity, violence.
Parents Need to Know
Why Age 17+?
Any Positive Content?
Where to Watch
Videos and Photos
Beyond Clueless
Parent and Kid Reviews
What's the Story?
Using clips and montages from over 200 teenage films, Beyond Clueless aims to dissect and categorize the cinematic teen experience in anthropological terms.
Is It Any Good?
BEYOND CLUELESS has an appealing idea: dissecting teen films as a genre to study the internal laws of teen life from the cinematic viewpoint. But with such a glut of clips and only a few to analyze -- not all of which are particular standouts in the genre -- the result feels like being inundated with scene after scene of the same thing: cliques, bullying, sexual awakenings, makeovers, mean girls, and the like. But perhaps that's the point. Though not exhaustive, the result ultimately leaves viewers feeling as if they've seen the same teenage movie again and again for better or for worse. The question is, why?
That's not really answered, and to form your own idea, you'll have to sit through montage after montage of highly mature content from teenage films, including sex, drugs, profanity, alienation, and violence. The real question is whether it's effective in probing the bigger message about what the genre does or doesn't offer.
Talk to Your Kids About ...
Families can talk about how teen movies have changed over the years. Which are you favorite teens movies, and why?
How well do the films represented here reflect real teenage life, desires, or concerns?
Does Beyond Clueless succeed as an academic exploration of teen films? Why, or why not?
Movie Details
- In theaters : March 26, 2014
- On DVD or streaming : March 9, 2015
- Cast : Fairuza Balk
- Director : Charlie Lyne
- Studio : The Film Sales Company
- Genre : Documentary
- Topics : School ( High School )
- Run time : 89 minutes
- MPAA rating :
- Last updated : October 1, 2025
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