Normal Adolescent Behavior

2007 "No secrets. No inhibitions. No apologies."
5| 1h35m| R| en
Details

High school student Wendy has an odd relationship with her five friends: They're openly sexual with each other, swapping partners every week. But this is all thrown into turmoil when she meets Sean, a new student in school who has a crush on her. Wendy wants to be with Sean, but doesn't want to disappoint her friends, whom she has known since grade school. When she does decide to leave them, her best friend, Billie, threatens revenge.

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Reviews

Jeanskynebu the audience applauded
UnowPriceless hyped garbage
Sameer Callahan It really made me laugh, but for some moments I was tearing up because I could relate so much.
Marva-nova Amazing worth wacthing. So good. Biased but well made with many good points.
RavenGlamDVDCollector Watched HAVOC just more than two weeks ago, expecting a relationship drama featuring teenage promiscuity, but instead got a gang-banger-theme featuring teenage promiscuity. Watching NORMAL ADOLESCENT BEHAVIOR this week, expected a follow-up to HAVOC, a remake of sorts. But no, this one is a gentle movie with gentle characters bar a few tempers flaring. It's kind of disappointing, too, but my real problem during the premiere was that I couldn't make out what they were saying. Hell, people, I ain't deaf, but clear pronunciation is not big with the Newer Generations. Subtitle city! I checked on IMDb, some reviewers, obviously young, involved in the social scene of the day, hold this in high regard. So I went to subtitles, and I must admit that during my second outing with the movie, I developed more of an involvement. The movie is better than I thought. Sherbet, you need subtitles though. There are sentences that otherwise just cannot be discerned.There is very little nudity in this film. Bare backs with a fleeting distant side view of breasts do appear three or so times. Aside from that, it is feet, hands, backs, legs, arms, so somebody was really playing it safe. I am not going to suggest that it should have been different, because maybe Amber Tamblyn took the part stipulating just exactly this, and she was really right for the part, so I wouldn't want to tamper with what we got. But in the unlikely event of there being a HAVOC 3, I'd say Something Wilder next time.This one is a chick flick which definitely doesn't add up to the meaning of the word 'havoc' and so it should have remained NORMAL ADOLESCENT BEHAVIOR with no reference to the Anne Hathaway movie.Truth be told, there are way better teen dramas out there, better teenage promiscuity dramas too. But Amber Tamblyn did great, and that little junior star was noteworthy, I keep forgetting her name, the one with the darling fringe like Carly Rae Jeppsen. Had to peek now, Julia Gallo. (nowadays Laila Liliane Gallo, kinky! whatever works for you, pet)Noticed that the storyline has them as in that group where they don't have to play the games of society. Yet they are all highly individualistic, a nose stud here, a nose job there... What was up with those boxes though? Big deal! A seventies thing. Today's kids certainly wouldn't be bothered by mere trivialities.Ideal for a rainy afternoon, but when the sun peeks through...
TdSmth5 Six teens (3 girls, 3 guys) form some sort of mini-commune/club. They spend time just with each other. They have sex only with each other. They think of themselves as special, different, superior than the rest of the kids. Most importantly, the 3 girls in their minds don't see themselves as sluts, like all other girls are.They have some rules for dealing with each other and with others, such as never lie (to each other). Each one has a box that belongs to another. In the box are things from the past that meant something, or that are somehow embarrassing.One day, one of them, Wendy, meets the new guy in school, Sean. He quickly falls for her. She's different, smart, outspoken. Of course he wants to be with her, but she can't be with him because she can only be with her club. But Wendy's younger brother falls for Sean, so it seems. It's not clear what is going on with that kid.Eventually Wendy falls for Sean, too, which of course causes tension withing the club. Billie in particular flips out. She ends up giving Wendy's box of secrets to Sean and he flips out and wants Wendy to burn it. Eventually Wendy has to confront Billie. And she'll have to decide whether to chose Sean or her friends.Normal Adolescent Behavior, marketed as Havoc 2, has nothing to do with Havoc. It's a result of the hysteria some years before that about the supposed casual sex lives of teen girls. Of course no one cares about the sex lives of teen boys, or the casual sex lives of adults for that matter. How a group of kids that spends time having group sex among each other is supposed to laudable as opposed to sluts, is never clarified. Of course we're supposed to believe that the former or the latter is "normal" teen behavior. But sex isn't really what this movie is about. The topic of Greek tragedy comes up repeatedly and I guess we're supposed to see the movie as such, but I don't. The movie is about the drama of fitting it, of belonging, of finding someone, of family vs. outsiders. And as such it's a good movie. While there's not a whole lot of normal teen behavior featured, the teens are "normal" for Hollywood standards. That is, neither the obnoxious insufferable ones, nor the super strong, super smart ones featured in ever single show/movie these days. And for that reason the movie also lacks an impact. You witness a dramatic episodes in these kids' lives that isn't all that interesting. One problem is that quickly the movie centers on Wendy leaving the rest of the group aside and we learn nothing about them. Especially, the males of the group are completely disposable, while a lot is made of the bizarre and charicaturesque character of Wendy's brother which doesn't add much to the story to begin with.
pdubs10 While the acting is nothing stellar, the real problem with this film is the writing. It tries for the unscripted, natural feel and only succeeds in making it seem unpolished and amateurish. There's nothing to set apart the way that it's filmed and the music selection is a bit over-dramatic.Film-making qualities aside, it still doesn't have a compelling story. It's completely inaccurate and unrealistic and takes itself far too seriously to be a dark farce of the whole clique-of-friends-who-sleep-together. The characters are lacking in any personality except for a few minor roles. It's a shame this film is even associated with Havoc, which is well-filmed and at least has a point to it.
starburst_amjs I'm surprised this movie has such a low rating, I just watched it last night and was surprised by how much I liked it. It's the story of a group of friends who are in a monogamous relationship with each other because they think it's better and more fulfilling than the alternative of teenage dating. Amber Tamblyn as Wendy meets the boy next door and begins to question the arrangement she shares with her 5 best friends. I thought she had great chemistry with the leading man Sean and that they were both surrounded by some great young actors including Kelli Garner as one of the group of best friends.I always like Amber Tamblyn because I think she chooses roles that go against normal stereotypes of teenage girls and portrays unique but still realistic characters.It was sexy without being offensive and didn't try to be too touching or emotional but there was depth to the story and layers of emotion. All in all I thought this movie was different and that it had a strange appeal to it that I still can't quite put my finger on but I enjoyed it nonetheless.