My So-Called High School Rank
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My So-Called High School Rank
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A Lot or a Little?
The parents' guide to what's in this movie.
What Parents Need to Know
Parents need to know that My So-Called High School Rank is a documentary about the stresses and dreams of young people today. Teenagers at three high schools are followed as they put on a musical about the stresses of high school that gets shut down in 2020 -- like all other areas of life -- due to the pandemic. The teens seem wholly focused on the musical and then on getting into the best college possible. They seem hard-working, honest, and talented. Schools are named, and there's mention of teen suicide due to anxiety and depression brought on by the stress of achieving. There's mention of poverty and substance abuse impacting communities, as well as Black Lives Matter protests in the wake of George Floyd's death at the hands of police (and, in one case, a counterprotest with men carrying AR-15 rifles). Language includes "f--k, "holy s--t," damn," "hell," and "screwed."
What's the Story?
MY SO-CALLED HIGH SCHOOL RANK follows a handful of high school juniors and seniors as they face mounting pressure to get into the best colleges, achieve the highest test scores and rankings in high school, and figure out what they want to do with the rest of their lives -- all at once. When COVID shuts schools down, including the musical they've been working on, the students' lives shift dramatically. But college applications still loom, and the documentary follows them through that process and past graduation. The teens profiled come from a variety of backgrounds and different parts of the United States.
Is It Any Good?
COVID's impact on high school students is evident in this documentary, which pivots to a very different story when the pandemic shuts down society. When My So-Called High School Rank begins, an interesting story unfolds about a high school musical that struck such an emotional chord with students that it was being adapted all across the United States and in vastly different communities. When COVID strikes, it doesn't just impact the students and their theater productions in this film, it changes the focus of the documentary as a whole. That's a little confusing in the middle of a film, no matter how understandable the motivation is. But what's really interesting about this documentary is how it continues to hold your attention in this transition as it launches into a new focus on the young people's lives in general.
The kids are all right, but some of them face vast inequalities, including poverty, communities damaged by substance abuse, and gatekeepers that determine their future after high school. The film flips around between subjects and locations, and sometimes seems to get sidetracked by events like the Black Lives Matter protests or long-ish interviews with some parents but not others. The teens are widely diverse yet similar in their age-appropriate expression of their hopes for the future. And they all seem to be grappling with stress, the topic of the original musical. The film comes back to the theater piece at the end, but by then you feel you've moved on to a different movie.
Talk to Your Kids About ...
Families can talk about the topic of the musical shown at the beginning of My So-Called High School Rank. What causes the students' feelings of overwhelming stress? Have you ever felt this way, and how did/do you handle it?
The students come from a wide variety of backgrounds. Who did you most empathize with? Whose life is most like your own?
What are your thoughts about a college education? Do you want to go to college? How important to you is the reputation or renown of the college?
Movie Details
- On DVD or streaming: November 29, 2022
- Directors: Ricki Stern, Anne Sundberg
- Studio: HBO Max
- Genre: Documentary
- Topics: Activism, Arts and Dance, Friendship, High School, Music and Sing-Along
- Run time: 101 minutes
- MPAA rating: NR
- Last updated: December 5, 2022
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