User reviews

Six teens (3 girls, 3 guys) form some sort of mini-commune/club. They spend time just with each other. They have sex only with each other. They think of themselves as special, different, superior than the rest of the kids. Most importantly, the 3 girls in their minds don't see themselves as sluts, like all other girls are.

They have some rules for dealing with each other and with others, such as never lie (to each other). Each one has a box that belongs to another. In the box are things from the past that meant something, or that are somehow embarrassing.

One day, one of them, Wendy, meets the new guy in school, Sean. He quickly falls for her. She's different, smart, outspoken. Of course he wants to be with her, but she can't be with him because she can only be with her club. But Wendy's younger brother falls for Sean, so it seems. It's not clear what is going on with that kid.

Eventually Wendy falls for Sean, too, which of course causes tension withing the club. Billie in particular flips out. She ends up giving Wendy's box of secrets to Sean and he flips out and wants Wendy to burn it. Eventually Wendy has to confront Billie. And she'll have to decide whether to chose Sean or her friends.

Normal Adolescent Behavior, marketed as Havoc 2, has nothing to do with Havoc. It's a result of the hysteria some years before that about the supposed casual sex lives of teen girls. Of course no one cares about the sex lives of teen boys, or the casual sex lives of adults for that matter. How a group of kids that spends time having group sex among each other is supposed to laudable as opposed to sluts, is never clarified. Of course we're supposed to believe that the former or the latter is "normal" teen behavior. But sex isn't really what this movie is about. The topic of Greek tragedy comes up repeatedly and I guess we're supposed to see the movie as such, but I don't. The movie is about the drama of fitting it, of belonging, of finding someone, of family vs. outsiders. And as such it's a good movie. While there's not a whole lot of normal teen behavior featured, the teens are "normal" for Hollywood standards. That is, neither the obnoxious insufferable ones, nor the super strong, super smart ones featured in ever single show/movie these days. And for that reason the movie also lacks an impact. You witness a dramatic episodes in these kids' lives that isn't all that interesting. One problem is that quickly the movie centers on Wendy leaving the rest of the group aside and we learn nothing about them. Especially, the males of the group are completely disposable, while a lot is made of the bizarre and charicaturesque character of Wendy's brother which doesn't add much to the story to begin with.

My wife and I chose to see Normal Adolescent Behavior at the Tribeca Film Festival because it sounded right up our alley. With our extended family including over 15 high school and college aged kids, we hate the the way that Hollywood portrays teens and were eager to see a film that was closer to the truth. I always root for the small filmmaker, as they always seem to make films that are more honest and real than Hollywood.

What we saw was a film that managed to take teen sex and make it dull. And fake. In fact, it takes teen group sex and makes it dull. How? Unfortunaltely in order to explain that I would have to insult the writer/director and I do not believe in anonymously insulting people on the internet. She seemed rather proud of herself at the Q&A after the film, so at least someone is happy with this movie. (My wife pointed out that none of the questions lead with the usual, "First of all, thank you for your great work.." intro that all Q&A questioners start with. I missed that detail.)

Suffice to say that the characters in this movie behave predictably and boringly. The plot itself is more thin than you can imagine. The characters are either saying something too immature for their age or too mature. Honestly, the emotional levels in this film feel like a bad episode of Melrose Place. (Note, I chose a TV show with characters in their late 20's. That's on purpose, because these kids vascillate between acting like they're 9 or acting like they're 27.) Oddly, the television show the OC (which I couldn't sit through but my wife watched for fun) had characters who are more believable high school students than these kids in Normal Adolescent Behavior. And those characters were awful.

I will add that technically it feels more like an amateur video than a movie. It is shot like a TV episode, with the camera always too close to the the actors. There are rarely establishing shots and there are many shots out of focus. The sound mix is also odd. Scenes inside a high school are quiet as a church with no ambiance at all, which adds to the lack of realism.

I would say more, but I've already been more critical than I wanted to be. Honestly, this was one of the worst films that I ever managed to sit all the way through.

I expect all of the kids I know to reject this film outright. If you thought my comments were negative, wait until this movie gets released. It just occurred to me that kids loved Napoleon Dynamite because, in spite of the ridiculousness of it, that film managed to portray that time in life honestly. Normal Adolescent Behavior will probably get a two word review from most. The first word is an animal with horns that loves cows and the second word is what that animal leaves behind a few hours after a good meal.

I saw this film at the Tribecca film festival earlier this year. To be completely honest with you, i think that it may be one of the worst movies i've seen. i was on the fence with my decision because some of the acting was very good, but i finally came to the realization, that this movie was dull, pretentious, obnoxious, poorly written and not well put together at all. Beth schacter seemed pretty pleased with herself at the premiere. I was not pleased, at all. The scenes did not flow together at all. It was amazingly noticeable when a scene changed. The dialogue was flimsy, and often times hipocritical.Half of the point was to show these teenagers as teenagers, but then they would just come out with these insanely mature things to say. It left you sitting there saying "where the hell did that come from?" Another thing...teens and sex. NOTHING new was said on the topic. Alright, teenagers are engaging in rather risky sexual behaviors at younger ages, heard it before, what else you got? Tone in the movie was probably the first thing i noticed. The movie would just take you through moods like it wasn't no thing. It would make you chuckle at one point, then INSTANTLY try to get you sad and somber. It expected you to switch emotions like you would a lamp. It wasn't working, at all. Finally, I have a question for Ms. Schacter. Just what was the message about teenagers you were trying to get across? Cuz it seemed to me you were sort of confused yourself. Are you trying to say that being a teenager is one of the greatest times of life? That we should all be nostalgic for our days of puberty? Or are you trying to say that as teenagers, we are all selfish creatures, taking no regard for others feelings while living in a world of 'me'? I honestly don't want this movie released, it's not shocking, it's not interesting, it's not controversial, and there's nothing new said here, at all. Life is too short for such a pretentiously dull movie.

Six "20-something" high school students have been best friends forever. Upon coming of age, they decide to avoid adolescent sexual angst by pledging to only screw around with each other. But, things get sticky for the sextet when hot Amber Tamblyn (as Wendy Bergman) gets a load of hunky new neighbor Ashton Holmes (as Sean Mayer). Should Ms. Tamblyn stay with her sex buds - Kelli Garner (as Billie), Raviv Ullman (as Price), Stephen Colletti (as Robert), Julia Garro (as Ann), and Edward Tournier (as Jonah) - or split for Sean?

Surprisingly, nobody considered having Mr. Holmes join the group. This would have made the film more dynamic, and could still deal with the "one" v "multiple" partners debate. Also, Holmes could teach Ms. Garner (the only one who never broke the rules of the group) how to give a good spanking; because, as the group's unofficial leader, she really should know. The spanking scene between Tamblyn and Holmes is about as daring as the sexcapades get - although some more adventurous fun is implied to be going on.

For some reason (possibly, to deceive you into thinking there is more nudity in this film), the studio decided to re-title this film "Normal Adolescent Behavior: Havoc 2" somewhere along the way to its DVD release. Be advised, "Normal Adolescent Behavior" has nothing to do with "Havoc" (2005), which was a good story derailed by some strained performances (Freddy Rodriguez was good, though).

This film features a very connected Tamblyn (from "General Hospital", and the daughter of Russ Tamblyn) giving writer/director Beth Schacter an excellent lead performance. Tamblyn shows the dramatic fire of young Sally Field; hopefully, she'll have a long, successful career. And, you may recognize "Raviv Ullman" is indeed "Ricky Ullman" from "Phil of the Future", showing dramatic range of his own.

Ms. Schacter works incredibly well with the cast. In probably the best-written of the secondary roles, Ms. Garner shows why she should be a more well-regarded actress. Actually, all the supporting cast members, including "Watchmen" comic reader and cookin' little brother Daryl Sabara (as Nathan), leave you wanting to see more of their film work... so, can anyone explain, after seeing him in this film, why Mr. Tournier has only ONE feature film credit?

******* Normal Adolescent Behavior (4/27/07) Beth Schacter ~ Amber Tamblyn, Ashton Holmes, Kelli Garner, Ricky Ullman

The six suburban high-school friends Wendy (Amber Tamblyn), Billie (Kelli Garner), Ann (Julia Garro), Jonah (Edward Tournier), Price (Raviv Ullman) and Robert (Stephen Colletti) share a sexual relationship among them since elementary school swapping partners without regrets or excuses. When the newcomer Sean (Ashton Holmes) moves to the next door of Wendy coming from Chicago, the girl feels attracted by him. But her bond with her friends split her feelings between the normal relationship with the conservative Sean and the kinky sex she uses to have with her mates. Meanwhile her younger brother Nathan (Daryl Sabara) has a crush on Sean's mother Helen (Kelly Lynch) and uses his ability of cooking to try to seduce her.

"Normal Adolescent Behavior" is a pointless and shallow coming of age story of a group of promiscuous friends from dysfunctional families that have a club of kinky sex. The unrealistic characters do not have any previous development of their motives for such behavior and their fake relationship is simply thrown to the viewers through the dramatic dilemma of Wendy that has a past and does not know if she shall be another slut in her group of friends or the girlfriend of a nice guy. I do not know the background or the (mental) age of the writer and director Beth Schacter, but she certainly might have impressed teenagers in the wrong way with this stupid and dull story. The title is awful and mislead the viewers and should be "The Society Is Made of Rules", no matter whether it is a brotherhood of sex or the conventional society. The good point is the acting of these promising young actors and actresses that could not do better with this terrible screenplay. My vote is three.

Title (Brazil): "Rebeldes Sem Causa" ("Rebels without Cause")

If you're drawn to this movie because of its DVD box description--something about a "scorching", "seductive", "dangerous" and "sizzling hot" drama--hmm, you might be let down. Ironically enough, if you're somewhat turned off by that sensational marketing but decide to watch it anyway, read on because there's a real treat in store.

I have absolutely no clue how I ended up watching this. I'm well past my teen years, and what's more, my teen years weren't exactly something anyone would write a movie about. My high school experience was about as sizzling hot as the Brady Bunch. I didn't really want to see a bunch of stylish supermodel teenagers doing all the naughty things I wish I could've done in some alternate universe designed by Mtv.

Well, almost immediately I realized that's not the angle this movie chose to take. First of all, the acting is very genuine. Not like a bunch of cool vampires who speak entirely in clever 1-liners, but the way real humans speak to each other: sometimes awkward, sometimes goofy, with very real emotion and natural language, almost as if the actors departed from the script and would ad lib their lines, jokes and reactions. So OK, I thought, real characters and believable dialogue is a major plus. I'll keep watching another 20 minutes or so. (Aside: be sure to watch the deleted scenes for some amazing, brutally honest scenes with excellent acting. Why they got cut I have no idea except that maybe "real life" type conversations are too boring for the average moviegoer?)

And then the real theme of the story emerges, grabbing me hook, line, and sinker. Sure, it's about a bunch of teens who form a strange (some would say perverse) 6-way love hexagon. But really their strange arrangement is meant to be the opposite of the rampant, casual sex hookups that all the other high schoolers are trying to do. Make no mistake: this is NOT about any sort of diabolical kinky sex orgy. The director was very careful to avoid all that, as well as drugs, alcohol (ok maybe I saw 1 beer), and gratuitous profanity, because all of that would've upstaged the real point of the story.

And so the central question emerges: is an exclusive 6-way love relationship morally inferior to a love life of fleeting hookups? Or more directly to the point: is it better to have a bunch of trusted friends-with-benefits, or take your chances in the whole boyfriend-girlfriend meat market? Furthermore, what happens when you fall for someone who can't understand the logic in your deviation from the norm?

This is what I meant by "Chasing Amy" in my title. "Normal Adolescent Behavior" challenges the viewer by presenting a type of "abnormal" or "deviant" sexual idea that can actually make more sense than our normal human mating rituals. And, as in Chasing Amy, severe conflict arises when a deviant character and a normal character fall for each other.

What I really liked about this movie is that nothing is canned. Nothing is black & white predictable, and each character undergoes dynamic changes just like we do in real life. Nobody is the designated good guy or the obligatory villain (although Kelli Garner "Billie" has a few awesome psycho scenes that would make Glenn Close shake in her boots). What we get is a very appealing, realistic and mature portrayal of relationships that could apply to anyone, not just 17-year-old high schoolers.

In fact, the high school setting made this story more universal because it wasn't weighed down by the adult baggage that grownups have. Also this movie remains relatively tame, believe it or not. There is some nudity but only when necessary to convey a point, and even then the nudity is obscured or blurred.

So yes, if you're looking for a scorching sizzling seductive late-nighter, you might want to look elsewhere. But if you're up for an intelligent, morally challenging exposé of love, sexuality and the bizarre mating rituals of the human species, then grab your popcorn and settle in.

While the acting is nothing stellar, the real problem with this film is the writing. It tries for the unscripted, natural feel and only succeeds in making it seem unpolished and amateurish. There's nothing to set apart the way that it's filmed and the music selection is a bit over-dramatic.

Film-making qualities aside, it still doesn't have a compelling story. It's completely inaccurate and unrealistic and takes itself far too seriously to be a dark farce of the whole clique-of-friends-who-sleep-together. The characters are lacking in any personality except for a few minor roles. It's a shame this film is even associated with Havoc, which is well-filmed and at least has a point to it.

This movie is called Havoc: 2 Normal Adolescent Behavior I am guessing it is part two to Havoc starring Anne Hathaway which I thought was really bad. But this movie was fairly good it shows you that perfectly smart teens can do things you wouldn't expect I mean its like a teenage swingers club if you ask me.

I mean all the sex they never really did anything normal with each other like go to the movies and stuff so there was nothing ever normal about their behavior. Then again it also makes you question a one on one relationships. It seems like the guy was trying to save her and I wish there was a better ending like you see him burning the box and her actually acknowledging her brother but it wasn't like your typical happy ending.

I don't want to get into how this movie portrays misogyny and the objectification of women like a natural part of adolescence. It does. And it's sickening and unfair to women... but like I said... I don't want to get into it.

I just want to praise Kelli Garner for being the best thing in this movie. Her facial expressions, her witty retorts, her sarcastic yet genuine way of dealing with anything thrown at her. I can't get enough of it. She's just awesome.

Watched HAVOC just more than two weeks ago, expecting a relationship drama featuring teenage promiscuity, but instead got a gang-banger-theme featuring teenage promiscuity. Watching NORMAL ADOLESCENT BEHAVIOR this week, expected a follow-up to HAVOC, a remake of sorts. But no, this one is a gentle movie with gentle characters bar a few tempers flaring. It's kind of disappointing, too, but my real problem during the premiere was that I couldn't make out what they were saying. Hell, people, I ain't deaf, but clear pronunciation is not big with the Newer Generations. Subtitle city! I checked on IMDb, some reviewers, obviously young, involved in the social scene of the day, hold this in high regard. So I went to subtitles, and I must admit that during my second outing with the movie, I developed more of an involvement. The movie is better than I thought. Sherbet, you need subtitles though. There are sentences that otherwise just cannot be discerned.

There is very little nudity in this film. Bare backs with a fleeting distant side view of breasts do appear three or so times. Aside from that, it is feet, hands, backs, legs, arms, so somebody was really playing it safe. I am not going to suggest that it should have been different, because maybe Amber Tamblyn took the part stipulating just exactly this, and she was really right for the part, so I wouldn't want to tamper with what we got. But in the unlikely event of there being a HAVOC 3, I'd say Something Wilder next time.

This one is a chick flick which definitely doesn't add up to the meaning of the word 'havoc' and so it should have remained NORMAL ADOLESCENT BEHAVIOR with no reference to the Anne Hathaway movie.

Truth be told, there are way better teen dramas out there, better teenage promiscuity dramas too. But Amber Tamblyn did great, and that little junior star was noteworthy, I keep forgetting her name, the one with the darling fringe like Carly Rae Jeppsen. Had to peek now, Julia Gallo. (nowadays Laila Liliane Gallo, kinky! whatever works for you, pet)

Noticed that the storyline has them as in that group where they don't have to play the games of society. Yet they are all highly individualistic, a nose stud here, a nose job there...

What was up with those boxes though? Big deal! A seventies thing. Today's kids certainly wouldn't be bothered by mere trivialities.

Ideal for a rainy afternoon, but when the sun peeks through...

I was astounded by the very negative reviews I read here, I thought the movie Normal Adolescent Behavior was fantastic. The use of the group-sex pact I thought, really showed how people grow up and evolve. While some viewers may say it was over-the-top, I have to disagree, although the situation is pretty unusual, those kinds of things happen every once and a while, things that sound so bizarre, parents don't even take the rumors seriously. It was so thought-provoking, days after seeing this film I kept analyzing what relationships really mean, a major theme of the movie. You see how with all of these so-called "liberated" sexual practices in teen culture, such as nameless sex partners and girls going down on boys for status hurts teens' ability to have healthy sexual relationships. I, as a highschooler can also vouch that things such as the party scenes are not unrealistic, just kept very quiet. I talked to my mother about the issues of this film, and any movie that can spark discussions between teenagers and adults about sex, I think, is a good thing.

As a teenager, myself I defiantly was interested in seeing this movie. It looked as though it would have portrayed an average teenagers life accurate as opposed to the wholesome "teen flicks" out there. I went to this movie with a friend of mine who is also a teenager and we left the movie theater speechless because the movie literally astounded us. Not only was the movie well edited and shot wonderfully, it was also profoundly truthful. Of course, a few of the party scenes were a little outrageous but it is a movie and some things are going to be unrealistic. As an older viewer they may think this movie is a far cry from what there teenage years were like but in a teenage modern society it is more adult and sexual then one might think. Amber Tambyln as well as the other young actors did a marvelous job portraying their characters and the raw emotion that was felt. I recommend this movie to anyone! PS. the soundtrack was amazing as well!

I have to disagree with those who didn't like the film. I saw it at Tribeca as well and I thought it was terrific. That said, I think one's perspective on this film has a lot to do with what you bring to it.

If your own adolescent experience was intensely emotional and you were sexually active at a young age, then this film feels like someone stole your diary. Yes, scenes are highly charged and the characters' reactions are large. But if you lived it, you reacted that way yourself.

As I watched it, I felt that I had been in the place of almost every character at one point or another: the inexperienced person overwhelmed with jealousy and with a terribly romantic idea of love, the hyper-experienced person shunned and judged for their choice outside the bounds of "normal", an average member in thrall to the charismatic leader, and the manipulative leader who fears the loss of their group if anyone exits or enters without permission. I played each and every one of those roles somewhere between time I was 16 and 21.

Ultimately, this is a film about our petty obsessions and the intensity with which they rule our lives. If you loved reading Scott Spencer's "Endless Love", Nabokov's "Lolita", Patrick Süskind's "Perfume", or "The Witching Hour" by Anne Rice, you will probably be drawn to this world.

Okay. Not sequel in the usual sense. But it does have Havoc 2 in the title. This movie by far puts Havoc the first movie; with Anne Hathaway, to shame. Miss. Hathaways acting was superb but the movie missed so much. This one's incredibly original. No it doesn't portray average teenagers today, but its a movie. Its suppose to be different and intriguing and lure you into another world. Even though these friends are not normal, the way the movie was made, the way the story was built, and of course the acting make it all believable. Made me feel like I felt when I saw The Craft in 5th grade. Truth be told the movies are similar in structure. Anyway, Props to all the people who worked on the move!

I just recently saw the movie Normal Adolescent Behavior, I saw the commercial for the movie, and thought it looked really interesting. I thought the movies theme was great, "group sex" is something that isn't very uncommon these days, some people think that the movies tries to portray all teenagers, but in actuality it just portray a single "family" of friends, and should not be taken in offense. I thought the story line was great, some other people think that the story was "jumpy" and switched moods fast, but thats what teenage life is like, one minutes content, the next erratic, so it really portrayed teenage life correctly. Anyways, i really enjoyed the movie, and the acting was wonderful.