Terri Tugs at the Heartstrings by Movie Reviewers on Creators.com

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Terri Tugs at the Heartstrings

Though "nerd culture" has infiltrated the mainstream and ultimately been deemed "cool," there are shimmering reminders that being "the other" isn't always so glamorous. The X-Men get to help save the planet. Gawky Shia LaBeouf has the protection of giant robots from space. But guys like Terri (and likely, most misfits)? All they've got is the esoteric notion of having a kind heart.

"Terri" is the sort of down-to-earth outsider story that really wraps a consoling arm around the "weirdoes" of the world. The little film's namesake (played by Jacob Wysocki) is a hefty high schooler whose grades are failing and whose self-esteem is plummeting. (How could they not, when his peers pinch his sizable chest and call him "Double D"?) His absentee parents left him to be caretaker for the demented Uncle James (Creed Bratton), whose only real skill is burning bacon.

His silent cries for aid are answered by the chummy vice principal, Mr. Fitzgerald, played robustly by John C. Reilly. Now here's an individual you wish you had on your team as a child. He ends all his meetings with high fives, and he genuinely cares for those in need — even the grave secretary, Ms. Hamish (Mary Anne McGarry). Fitzgerald becomes the dad and big bro that Terri never had, and the obese boy changes the counselor's perspective, too.

Terri finds that he's not alone in the swamp of adolescence. He befriends (albeit reluctantly) the squirrelly goth Chad (Bridger Zadina), who suffers from trichtotillomania and misdirected libido.

And he discovers a kindred soul in the cast-out Heather (Olivia Crocicchia), a pretty but sullen girl who was snookered into some lewd classroom behavior with the campus creep.

Terri comes to Heather's rescue with an out-of-character joking outburst when their home economics course mates catch her crying. When he asks her why she let the cad take advantage of her, she replies forlornly that it just felt nice to be wanted. And isn't that what every teen (every one of us, in fact) wants?

There's so much about this warmly directed work by Azazel Jacobs that hits the nails on the head about youth. It's at times awkward (such as an overwrought booze-and-pills scene among Terri, Chad and Heather), but that's the point. Adolescence isn't easy. It's at times ugly. But the fleeting moments where beauty is revealed (be it the self-worth of a molested girl or when Terri comes face to face with a bird of prey in the wild) make all the fumbles worth it.

The bonus is that these rich characters feel so tangible. The town's location is never uttered so as to represent Anyville, U.S.A. We all know (or have been) a Terri or a Chad or, one hopes, a Mr. Fitzgerald. The script is certainly funny and tender, but the pages are stained with veracity. This isn't a Hollywood high school where the students are played by people nearing 30 and the teachers have bigger busts than brains. This is a wonderful warts-and-all realization and a true celebration of being "different." It's doubtful this summer's other mutants could conjure such heart.

"Terri" Rated: R. Running time: 1 hour, 45 minutes. 3 stars.

To find out more about Melissa Bobbitt and read features by other Creators Syndicate writers and cartoonists, visit the Creators Syndicate website at www.creators.com.