Quartile rating: 7/10 · 1 rating
A seemingly bright and mostly innocent 16-year-old named Mo attempts to navigate high school under the guidance of his best friend Zeke, an unmotivated-yet-charismatic college dropout. Although Zeke genuinely cares about Mo, things start to go awry as he teaches Mo nontraditional life lessons in drug dealing, partying, and dating. Meanwhile, Mo’s well-meaning dad tries to step in and take back the reins of his son’s upbringing.
Big Time Adolescence is a solid coming-of-age dramedy elevated primarily by Pete Davidson's surprisingly nuanced and charismatic performance as Zeke, which carries the film well beyond its modest premise. The plot follows a fairly well-worn path — impressionable teen falls under the influence of a lovable but destructive older friend — without significantly subverting expectations. Cinematography is functional but unremarkable, with no distinctive visual language to speak of. Novelty is limited; the slacker-mentor dynamic and drug-dealing subplot are genre staples. The ending offers a bittersweet but somewhat predictable resolution that feels earned emotionally if not dramatically surprising.