Watch American Yearbook
- 2004
- 1 hr 37 min
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5.7 (118)
American Yearbook, released in 2004, is a coming-of-age drama film that explores the lives of a group of high school seniors in Southern California during the year 1999. The film follows the journey of George, played by Nick Tagas, who is a first-generation Greek-American struggling to find his place in a world that is constantly changing.
George has big dreams of making it into the music industry but he is hindered by his strict Greek upbringing that puts a lot of pressure on him to pick a conventional career path. Throughout the course of the movie, we see George grappling with his identity as a Greek-American and his desire to pursue a path of his own choosing.
He is joined on this journey by his three closest friends - Chris, played by Jon Carlo Alvarez, Maria, played by Giovannie Espiritu, and Angel, played by Christopher Prampin. Each of them is dealing with their own set of problems and struggles as they try to navigate the tricky terrain of adolescence.
Chris is a talented football player who is desperately trying to impress his father and secure a scholarship to play in college. Maria is a Filipino-American who is struggling to keep her family together amidst financial difficulties and Angel is a gang member who is always up to no good but is fiercely loyal to his friends.
The group of friends spends their days hanging out at school, going to parties, getting into trouble and trying to figure out what they want to do with their lives after high school. As the year progresses, their relationships become more complicated and their paths start to diverge.
George falls in love with a girl named Samantha, played by Aubrey Aquino, who is also trying to break into the music industry. However, their relationship is threatened by their differing priorities and aspirations.
Chris finds himself in a moral dilemma when he discovers that the football team is cheating to win games and he has to decide whether to stand up for what is right or go along with the crowd to secure his future.
Maria struggles to cope with her family's financial difficulties and her mother's illness while trying to keep her grades up and her spirits high.
Angel gets more deeply involved in gang activity and starts to pull away from his friends, leading to tension and conflict in the group.
The movie captures the angst, confusion and hopelessness that so many teenagers feel as they try to make sense of themselves and the world around them. It deals with issues of identity, family, friendship, and the pressure to conform to society's expectations.
The film's soundtrack features a variety of genres, from punk rock to hip hop, that serve to highlight the theme of rebellion that runs through the movie.
Overall, American Yearbook is a poignant and thought-provoking film that captures the zeitgeist of high school life in the late 90s. It is a relatable and realistic portrayal of the struggles that teenagers face as they try to find their place in the world and come to terms with their own identity.