Terri

Terri is at times hard to watch. The titular character is awkward in a plethora of ways. He's picked on by his classmates. He's uncomfortable at school. Thanks to his strange and forgetful uncle, he's uncomfortable at home. He's uncomfortable in his own skin. He's overweight and depressed. At the start of the film, we learn that Terri has begun to wear his pajamas to school. When asked about this, he remarks that they're "comfortable." While I don't doubt that they're comfortable, this exhibits a bigger problem: Terri just doesn't care anymore.

Jacob Wysocki has only been in a handful films but he needs to be in a lot more. While his weight may hinder him in the vanity of Hollywood, he's possesses a tremendous amount of talent, which he more than proves in a powerful, heartbreaking (and heartwarming) role. And at 21 years old (possibly 22 at the time of this writing), he's young enough to have a long and prosperous career and yet old enough to be out of the child actor phase. I can only hope that he gets more work and becomes the star that he's destined to be.

And while Wysocki might be something of an acting powerhouse, John C. Reilly (Cyrus, Step Brothers) still manages to steal all of the scenes he's in as Mr. Fitzgerald, the assistant principal of Terri's school. He defies convention, employing such tactics as pretending to come down hard on students for the sake of people overhearing. He explains to Terri that he selects students that he sees as having potential - potential to be good or bad. Terri doesn't know which he is.

And then there's Creed Bratton, who plays a self-titled character in the NBC comedy The Office. As a big fan of The Office, I was almost positive that I wouldn't be able to take him seriously. Creed is, after all, one of the most far fetched characters on the show. But Bratton does a wonderful job as Terri's loving, caring Uncle James, alternating between Terri's caregiver and the product of his care.

There are plenty of misfit stories in movies, but few as effective and honest as Terri. Think back to all the other misfit movies that you've seen. How many of those "misfits" are normal, beautiful people. Terri actually is a misfit. He's massively overweight and his introverted naturally can easily be mistaken for creepy behavior. And it's one thing to be likable, but Terri actually inspires sympathy. We want him to succeed, to feel better about himself. That's what this movie sets out to accomplish and it does so beautifully, with many thanks to Azazel Jacobs's effective directing.

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