"The Perks of Being a Wallflower" is a film adaptation of the book by the same title, written by Stephen Chbosky and published in 1999. It's a coming of age story about Charlie (played by Logan Lerman known for his role as Percy Jackson), a socially awkward teenager finding his way through life and high school. Charlie lives with his parents, sister, and older brother but he is in need of friends.
Charlie is mostly reclusive and keeps to himself until he meets Sam (Emma Watson) and Patrick (Ezra Miller), two outgoing, eccentric step-siblings who know what it's like to be a wallflower and have fun being one. They take Charlie under their wings, starting his journey to self discovery and self expression.
The story examines interesting angles of friendship and young adulthood following passage after passage of Charlie's stories and letters of the book.
This major motion picture follows a group of best friend young adults as they navigate young love, new friends, family members, first dates, crafting a mix tape, family drama, the time-honored tradition of starting your first year of high school, and all of the poignant roller-coaster days of childhood all in the early 1990s.
The film features the amazing talents of Logan Lerman, Emma Watson, Ezra Miller, Mae Whitman, Paul Rudd, Nina Dobrev, Kate Walsh, Dylan Mcdermott, Melanie Lynskey and so many more! The casting of the movie really brings these characters to life!
All About The Perks of Being A Wallflower
This modern classic is the debut novel of author Stephen Chbosky and it frequently appears on the American Library Association list of most frequently challenged books.
This New York Times bestseller is a great story with important messages. Some schools may use the book in their curriculum, but this will depend on the school district, school board and school superintendent! The source material is more appropriate for teens of an advanced age because it covers topics like glorification of alcohol use and teen pregnancy.
The movie adaptation is a bit more tame and can easily make the list of teen readers favourite films!
In the book The Perks of Being A Wallflower, Charlie writes a series of letters to someone that begin "Dear Friend." Charlie’s letters include his favorite things like The Beatles’ song Dear Prudence and his thoughts as he transitions from middle school to freshman year and the strange world or high school.
After meeting Charlie’s character befriends Sam (Emma Watson) and Patrick (Ezra Miller) and their friendship becomes Charlie’s greatest ally in the film. The three enjoy bonding over the difficult time by enjoying movie night and each other's company.
Also, he is dealing with the loss of both his best friend and his Aunt Helen. Charlie is a very specific character because we learn so much yet understand so little about him. The narrative structure includes mysterious flashbacks that leave readers unsure.
Even reluctant readers will love this story, so why not recommend it at your next book club meeting? You can easily find a reading group guide or list of discussion questions online., find suggested questions here. Pick up a copy of your own book here and lend it to a friend to share your enjoyment of the book!
From self help to love letters this film has great quotes for every occasion! Here is the scoop on the best quotes from one of the best movies The Perks of Being a Wallflower!
1. "We accept the love we think we deserve."
This is one of the best quotes from possible the best book around!
Probably one of the most notable and well-known quotes from the movie. Charlie's English teacher, Mr. Anderson (Paul Rudd), drops this pearl of wisdom on Charlie when he asks him, "Why do nice people choose the wrong people to date?"
Charlie then repeats this to Sam later on in the film when she asks a similar question. Some people know in their heart the way they should be treated, but not all think they deserve that respect in a relationship due to past experiences or low-self esteem.
Charlie loves reading a particularly enjoys books like Naked Lunch by William S. Burroughs so it is no surprise when he bonds with his English teacher.
2. "Oh my God. My life is officially an after-school special."
"The Perks of Being a Wallflower" has many comedic aspects, and one of the biggest ones is Patrick. His love life is on the rocks due to his most recent relationship, where he is forced into secrecy and publicly belittled by the person he thought loved him.
He compares his life to an after-school special because of the heavy drama. Despite all of this, he still seems to be comedic, which may just be a defense mechanism for him.
3. "Charlie, take off your clothes."
Something Mary-Elizabeth says when Sam's current boyfriend, Craig, bails on the group right before the "The Rocky Horror Picture Show" performance. This line was so simplistic, yet so humorous because we all know what happens next.
Cut to the next scene and Charlie is on the stage, half naked.
4. "I saw this tree, but it was a dragon. Then it was a tree again and it just lied to me."
Charlie says this to Sam at a party after he took some sort of substance. He is shoveling the snow off the driveway and hallucinates that a tree is a dragon and feels decieved when the tree returns to its normal form.
He probably keeps shoveling (slowly, but surely) to keep his focus on anything other than the "dragon/tree." The scene is actually pretty sweet, because you can hear in Charlie's voice that he is happy for Sam's happiness in her new relationship, passing her SATs and that she will be graduating soon, but he is very fond of her and will miss her.
So it's a mix of jealousy, sadness and genuine happiness for her. After her year-round campaign Sam eventually get accepted into Penn State begins her college journey on the grander scale!
5. "Mary Elizabeth is really interesting because she's a Buddhist and a punk. But somehow she always acts like my father at the end of a long day."
When talking about Mary Elizabeth Charlie describes her as a punk Buddhist. Throughout the entire movie, people take little jabs at her, confused about how she can be a Buddhist, but be mean at the same time, because Buddhism is generally associated with peace.
6. "You're cruisin' for a bruisin'."
An underrated quote that Charlie's dad says in the movie, mostly to Charlie's sister, Candace. Towards the end of the movie, this line also represents the 'okay-ness' with Charlie’s parents.
When he first gets back from Mayview Hospital (a psychiatric hospital), there an awkward tension in the air.It was luckily diffused when Charlie broke the silence by asking his dad a question. Watch the movie to see the full scene.
7. "But you wore that toasty costume. It's not like it's cute or original, you'd hope it would be warm."
This is apart of one of Sam and Patrick's little sibling quibbles throughout the movie. Sam was complaining about the cold weather after the dance, and Patrick responds with this quote. She then came back with, "P*ss off, Tennessee tuxedo."
8. "You can't just sit there and put everybody's lives ahead of yours and think that counts as love."
Charlie has a tendency to put others before him. While this isn't bad, he does it quite often and fails to think about his happiness. During the holidays, after the fight at lunch Charlie goes to a get together Sam and Patrick's house. Sam brings Charlie into her room to give him a gift.
He's surprised because he doesn't expect anything in return for the favors he does for other people. The conversation soon turns to her asking him why he never said anything and he says he wants her to be happy. This is her response.
While in some ways his selflessness is one of the more positive aspects of Charlie Sam points out that he is missing out on so much by living this way.
9. "Welcome to the island of misfit toys."
This quote truly symobolises the beginning of the friendship and journey to the new Charlie Kelmeckis. At his first party, after getting high after eating "brownies," he reveals to Sam that a friend of his took his life the spring before.
The heart of his struggles is that he is lonely. Charlie saying this makes Sam realize he doesn't have any friends.
Sam tells Patrick and he raises a toast to Charlie, saying "We just want to toast to our new friend. You see things. And you understand. You're a wallflower." After the toast, Sam "officially" welcomes him in by saying this.
10. "We are infinite."
This is Charlie's last line of the film. Kind of hinting at the beginning when he says, "I feel infinite" at his first time being in the tunnel. Being in the tunnel and listening to "Heroes" by David Bowie, which in the movie is dubbed "the tunnel song." It makes him feel free and like anything is possible. It's in this moment he forgets his reality and just enjoys being in the present.
This scene has the perfect song for getting through your freshman year of high school and ready for the real world with your best friends. This quote is something that love letter writers will love for many years to come! No matter if your friends are going off to college or joining the military troops you will eventually have to go your separate ways, so cherish your time in school together!
There is nothing better than when a good book turns into more creative works like the great art film like The Perks of Being A Wallflower. Hope you enjoyed this great film and our list! Feel free to drop your favorite quotes and moments from "The Perks of Being a Wallflower" in the comment section.
For the scoop on more movie quotes check out these articles:
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Stephanie says
Welcome to the island of misfit toys is a quote from the Christmas movie Rudolph the Red Nosed Reindeer.