Teen movies have taken many forms over the last few decades and with this indie gem director David Robert Mitchell doesn’t try to reinvent the genre. Rather he attempts to bring the cinematic teen experience to its essence. In the tradition of Dazed and Confused or American Graffiti The Myth of the American Sleepover isn’t about much of anything except the feeling (and wonder) of being a teenager. Four teens of various ages spend one night at four different sleepovers simultaneously trying to reach and resist the milestones of growing up. Like the aforementioned films American Sleepover has a distinctively retro feel but Mitchell purposely refuses to put it in the context of any particular time: There are no cell-phones video games or texting and the kids aren’t driving around in beat-up Gremlins or poofing up their Flock of Seagulls haircuts. His point? Being a teenager is timeless.
This is clearly a movie about teenagers — not one for teenagers — since without the benefit of hindsight actual teenagers will more than likely miss the film’s point (even though it’s explicitly stated by one of the characters). The innocence of young adulthood is fleeting and The Myth of the American Sleepover magically manages to capture it.
