Outcasts & Underdogs

I love coming-of-age stories. I love them in fiction and in film.

But I recently realized that what I love most are coming-of-age stories about outcasts and underdogs. Adolescence (when many, but not all, come-of-age) is pretty awkward for just about everyone, but for some it is a Greek tragedy. Perhaps I identify with these protagonists or I simply agree with Tolstoy that happy families, or in this case, happy, popular, well-adjusted teens and adults, make less interesting stories.

Here are two films featuring outcast/underdog characters that you might not have heard of:

In Rocket Science, Hal Hefner (Reece Thompson), a shy, scrawny boy with a stutter, gets singled out by the type-A Ginny (Anna Kendrick) to join her on the debate team. For anyone who saw Kendrick in Up in the Air, you can look no further than her complex, conniving character in this film to see why she was cast in that one. What’s wonderful about this movie is that you are rooting for Hal to overcome his stutter and win the girl, even though you can see that a Hollywood ending may not be in store.

Thumbsucker is another such underdog tale. Based on the novel by Walter Kirn (who also wrote the novel Up in the Air), this story features a boy who, as a teenager, literally still sucks his thumb. The film has wonderful performances by Keanu Reeves as an orthodontist, Vince Vaughn as a dubious teacher, and Tilda Swinton and Vincent D’Onofrio as parents of the hapless hero.