American Teen is a film devoted to showing us the complexities of adolescent life. The documentary follows the lives of five mid-western teenagers living out their senior year at Indiana Community High School in Warsaw, Indiana; there is Megan the princess, Jake the geek, Mitch the heartthrob, Hannah the rebel, and Colin the jock. Director Nanette Burstein and her crew filmed the students for ten months to delve deeper into the lives and psyche of each one, producing hours upon hours of footage that necessitated an extensive editing process. "It's the subtext I'm interested in," she told Premiere at Sundance. "I've been wanting to do a documentary about teenagers for years."

Each teen is likeable and relatable, drawing the viewer in to their stories. Some of us wanted to escape small-town life, like Hannah, while others had to find a way to survive after high school without assistance from our parents, like Colin (though not everyone had to deal with a father who works as an Elvis impersonator). The film begins with the first day of the school year at Indiana Community High School. "Good morning, tigers!" booms over the loudspeaker, a ritual innately familiar to any former high schooler.

Burstein is very successful at getting her subjects to open up to the camera; Megan, who has a hard exterior and only believes in "getting even," is shown in a very different light when she opens up about her sister's death. American Teen can also be very funny; about his new girlfriend, Jake the geek quips, "We both suck at life."

Although it captures the essence of teenage life — the drama, relationships, loneliness, and pressure to conform — there are some scenes that give the narrative a Hollywood-feature film feel. Mitch the heartthrob and Hannah begin dating after Hannah performs at the talent show and catches Mitch's attention. He narrates as he watches Hannah perform, "Four years and I have never met Hannah Bailey before. It's not too late." His inevitable text message break-up felt scripted. Critical comparisons to The Breakfast Club reinforces the idea that this is not much more than a feature-length Laguna Beach–type reality show, albeit one set in a small town. Although American Teen is enjoyable and its characters interesting, it won't necessarily become the same type of time capsule that the BBC doc 7-Up has become for its audience.

— Marissa Kluger