The Myth of the American Sleepover

The Myth of the American Sleepover
USA-English-2009
Running Time: 97 Minutes
Written by David Robert Mitchell
Directed by David Robert Mitchell
Cast: Claire Sloma (Maggie), Marlon Morton (Rob), Amanda Bauer (Claudia), Brett Jacobsen (Scott), Amy Seimetz (Julie), Nikitia Ramsey (Ady Abbey), Jade Ramsey (Anna Abbey)

You can kiss two boys in one night, go to a dark warehouse where random people meet for love, dance the Charleston on a dock to win a handle of liquor, and even walk from house to house stalking a girl you saw in the produce aisle of the grocery store. It's all a part of The Myth of the American Sleepover, and as it's title implies, not much of what it portrays seems true or likely of actual American teenagers.

In his debut feature length film, writer and director David Robert Mitchell explores the facets of coming-of-age in middle America and the teenage rituals that go along with it. The Myth of the America Sleepover had its world premiere as an Official Selection of the International Critics' Week section of the 63th Cannes Film Festival. Previously, the film won a Special Jury Award for “Best Ensemble Cast” at the 2010 SXSW Film Festival and Conference and has received decent exposure for a low-budget debut here at Cannes.


The story follows four teenagers navigating their way through the last night of a small-town Michigan summer. Maggie (Claire Sloma), the pierced blonde pixie entering her freshman year, feels she has really done anything all summer, and sets her sights on love, vodka, and cigarettes for the night, her visible dorky friend Beth in tow. She faces some complications however when she has to choose between the reflective pool boy she has admired all summer and the rough n' tough guy she follows to a party.

Claudia (Amanda Bauer) is new in town, but is already dating a popular senior at school. When she is invited to a sleepover at the popular girl's house, she learns a secret about her boyfriend, and goes on a plan to hook up with the host girl's boy.

Rob (Marlon Morton), another rising freshman who has lied to all of his friends about sleeping with a girl from North Carolina that summer, falls in lust with a beautiful girl at the supermarket, and sets out on a journey that night to find her, no matter what.

On the other side of adolesnce, Scott (Brett Jacobsen) has returned from his junior year of college heart-broken and lost from his break-up with his high school sweetheart. When his sister tells him that one of the attractive Abbey twins (Nikita and Jade Ramsey) had a crush on him in high school, he sets embarks on a late-night drive to the college where the twins are attending a college orientation sleepover.

For those who have experience the “real” American sleepover, the film serves as a trip down memory lane. Boys and girls file host homes with their overnight bags and pillows and parents are seemingly absent as the teenage rituals begin. For the girls, this means giggling, eating candy, and talking about when their hair turned curly. For the boys, it means watching soft core porn, shoveling slices of pizza into their mouths, and hounding the kid that takes a private trip to the closet with a Playboy Magazine.

At the freshman boys' sleepover, things get interestingly awkward when Rob has a bathroom encounter with his host's older, sexy sister. Distracted by his obsession to find the ethereal blonde “supermarket” girl he fell for earlier that day, Rob wanders upstairs in search of Julie (Amy Seimetz) who also happens to be an alluring blonde. The sounds of dripping water come from the bathroom at the end of the hall where Julie is bathing. In a cruel invitation to Rob, who she caught staring at her earlier in the evening, she leaves the door open and invites him in for a chat. She indulges in a short game of cat and mouse, asking him if he has ever seen a naked girl before, and finally sending him away with a threat to scream when he asks for a kiss.

A grittier side of teenaged recreation also flaunts itself in the film. At another girls sleepover on the other side of town, older juniors and seniors get friendly with booze and roll a few joints. They also break out a Ouija board, the quintessential sleepover game to consult with a ghostly spirit in the house.

At times, the film manages to provoke a visceral reaction through well versed questions that encapsulate the emotions of adolescence. In an “awwwww” scene between Maggie and the pool boy, the pool boy asks “Is it alright if I hold your hand?”. The popular girl who extends an invitation to Claudia for the night illustrates the pressures that go along with growing up with her query “You're dating a senior and you don't even know if you're a beer or liquor girl?”.

However, these poignant moments don't make up for the otherwise bland hour and a half. Visually, the film is unremarkable. A few interesting shots, like a closeup of Claudia's eye as a shooting star flashes by, makes the rest of the pictures seem disappointing and flavorless.

Also, while the story skeleton is full of engaging, albeit unlikely, action, the dialogue comes off as stilted, slow, and contrived. For teenagers, the majority of the main characters are too pensive and seem comfortable with silences that any normal teenager would fill with a laugh, smart remark, or muttered swear.

Kudos to the casting department for bringing some sense of reality to the characters by securing actors who actually looked like kids, rather than slating 26-year-old models for the roles of awkward adolescents. However, simply casting actors who "look the part" can't make up for what the characters lack in delivery and depth. With the overlapping stories and intersecting searches for a final night of summer love and fun, the film narratively plays out like a B-version of Dazed and Confused or a number of other formulaic teen genre films.

In a panel discussion on the making of his film, director David Robert Mitchell stated he set out to “anchor” the film with a “gentle” tone. Unfortunately, The Myth of the American Sleepover simply retraces charted teen scene territory to miss the mark of “gentle” and winds up feeling flabby.

By Brittany Hannah