Marketic It's no definitive masterpiece but it's damn close.

Plustown A lot of perfectly good film show their cards early, establish a unique premise and let the audience explore a topic at a leisurely pace, without much in terms of surprise. this film is not one of those films.

Marva It is an exhilarating, distressing, funny and profound film, with one of the more memorable film scores in years,

Isbel A terrific literary drama and character piece that shows how the process of creating art can be seen differently by those doing it and those looking at it from the outside.

mary-179-677383 Teri is not a comedy. It is a drama. It had a 1 star rating on Netflix, but due to the reviews on here I gave it a go. I watched the whole film, I waited and waited for something interesting to happen. It was boring and the characters were not very likable, especially Chad. Terri's father is an invalid, but we don't seem to learn anything about him. Terri makes him breakfast and reminds him of stuff... I guess he is helping.A lot of scenes of Terri walking around being depressed.His character was of a sweet and curious nature. He was definitely a "Kind heart" but Chad was not a kind heart. I didn't like this movie, because it felt unfinished. He didn't grow or develop.

SnoopyStyle Terri (Jacob Wysocki) is a misfit who comes to school in his pajamas. He lives with his spaced out uncle (Creed Bratton). His vice principal Mr Fitzgerald (Jon C. Reilly) tries to reach out to him. Terri becomes friends with two other misfits. Chad (Bridger Zadina) is an angry wired loner, and Heather (Olivia Crocicchia) is the disgraced beautiful girl who got caught in a sexually permissive situation while in class.Jacob Wysocki is playing a very low energy character. They have to figure out how to show that character in a compelling manner. Watching him getting picked on all the time wasn't such a fun watch. Bridger Zadina has a nice role as the energetic crazy little guy. I think it would have been better to start the movie with them as friends. At least the movie would have the energy to drive it along. Olivia Crocicchia does a good job as the girl. The big scene feels voyeuristic. But all three kids play their roles well. It's an odd little film. I just wish they showed what happened to their friendship after that night.

Turfseer Another quirky indie comes down the pike by the name of 'Terri'. It's about an obese kid who goes to school in his pajamas and tries to cope in a world of peers who are against him. 'Terri' basically fits my definition of the classic quirky indie which puts forth a "quirky protagonist who must go on a journey of self-discovery, shedding a repressed upbringing while thwarting the goals of a reactionary group that wishes to maintain the status quo." Here the "reactionary" group consists of the bullies who mock Terri and other ostracized kids at the school as well as unsympathetic teachers, who all seem to feel that any acts of kindness toward their students would be detrimental to their overall growth.Other quirky indies such as 'The Descendants', have a protagonist that begins as a member of a reactionary group, but then rebels against them (think of George Clooney's character taking a stand against those members of his family who side with the developers). With Terri, there's a variation on the common theme: he must shed his repressed upbringing but is never part of the reactionary group he's opposed to. In fact, Terri is an outcast from that group, from day one! In contrast to the punks at school, Terri actually has a good heart. This is manifested in his loving concern for his Uncle James, who is afflicted with early onset Alzheimer's. Terri's issues revolve around lack of self-esteem, exacerbated by the bullying at school as well as a wellspring of anger that sometimes emerges at inopportune times. Early on, after trapping mice in the attic, Terri begins trapping mice in the woods which upsets Uncle James, as he feels Terri might be getting enjoyment from the act of killing instead of merely taking care of a rodent problem.Enter John C. Reilly as Assistant Principal Mr. Fitzgerald, who appears to be in charge of all the school misfits. Fitzgerald is also an oddball himself, and pretends to yell at his charges behind closed doors, only to reassure them that's it's only an act. Fitzgerald tells the kids that the 'tough guy act' is primarily for the benefit of his secretary, Mrs. Hamish, who he views as needing some kind of invigoration as she is gravely ill and about to kick the proverbial bucket.A good part of the film revolves around Terri bonding with the kindly Mr. Fitzgerald. At first Terri feels betrayed by Fitzgerald after he claims to be giving Terri an exclusive peek at a childhood yearbook . But when Chad Markson (Terri's new potential friend and fellow outcast) informs Terri that Fitzgerald also let him take a look at the 'exclusive' yearbook, Terri turns on him, in a fit of jealousy. Later, Terri apologizes to Chad for 'losing it' and eventually grows closer to Fitzgerald, who by film's end, has morphed into the teenager's good 'buddy'.The plot thickens when Terri sticks up for the cute Heather Mills, who is also the victim of classroom bullies. Soon afterward Terri, Heather and Chad are popping pills (Uncle James' Alzheimer medication), down in the basement of Terri's home and strange things ensue. For one, Chad accepts a dare to urinate on his own pants. Later, Heather strips to her underclothes, and offers to have some kind of sexual contact with Terri. The shy Terri knows his limits and declines, but clearly Heather's offer has done wonders for his self-esteem.Nothing much happens after that! Fitzgerald takes Terri and Chad to Mrs. Hamish's funeral and later Fitzgerald reveals to Terri that he's been having some problems with his wife at home. The conflict with the bullies at school has been dropped and Fitzgerald never goes mano a mano with any of his disinterested colleagues.I'm sure 'Terri' has a good many boosters who are attracted to the offbeat characters and situations. But my problem with this kind of 'quirky' dramedy, is that there's something inherently distasteful in films of this ilk. Somehow the quirky outcasts (despite a few shortcomings) always manage to be of high noble stock, and the antagonists who they're pitted against, invariably are rotten to the core. It's a formula that's repeated over and over again and I find myself not wanting to root for the Terri's of this world, precisely because their underdog status is so undeserved (just about anyone would look good, if they were pitted against such nasty opponents).I enjoy watching John C. Reilly since he's in so many films and I always wonder what kind of character he's going to take on next. Here he's a sweet guy who's helping kids who need some positive reinforcement. Jacob Wysocki ably conveys the loner Terri but the character is too distasteful at times to be considered even near heroic. The same goes for Bridger Zadina as the equally weird Chad, who's urination routine at film's end, is also thoroughly off-putting. I kept wondering why Olivia Crocicchia as Heather ends up on the misfit list, considering that she's the cutest girl in the school. Finally, there's Creed Bratton as Uncle James. Catch the DVD extras and you'll be amazed that Bratton is a sensational blues singer and guitarist. Of course he should be, as he's the former member of the Grass Roots, the eminent pop rock band from the 60s.

bhoidas The movie's not bad but the premise that Terry wears pajamas everywhere implausible. At the first sight of this if the police didn't pick him up & bring him home or to the station and he made it to school he would have been sent right home or sent to the principal's office until an adult or Child Services picked him up. Plus its hard to have compassion for someone who basically wears the same pajamas every day which would be unhygienic. And past all this we are supposed to believe the asst. principal never mentions it? While some of the characters are endearing some are not. You may want to spend your viewing time on a different movie.