Prom dress woes? Check. Insane rumors? Check. Boy troubles? Check plus.
All too often, MTV's "Awkward" feels like an ultra-real documentary of one's own high school days. Romantic triangles, academic struggles and mean popular girls are all very familiar concepts to anyone who has limped through the uncomfortable pre-college years.
For the sake of dramatics and TV magic, however, "Awkward" misses the boat on a few very important details. If you've ever said "What the heck is going on at Palos Hills High?!" in the middle of an episode, you're not alone. Check out the top 5 ways that "Awkward" gets high school totally, completely wrong.
The Cars
Jobless Jake Rosati magically has the money to drive a mint-condition 1968 Mustang convertible. What is this, Rydell High? That's the sort of car that executives check out during their mid-life crises. In fact, everyone seems to drive a pretty nice vehicle. I'm sorry, shouldn't these teenagers be working part time at a fast-food joint in order to fill the gas tanks of a beat up old mini-van?
The Parties
How on earth is everyone's parents so fine with their children attending huge keggers every weekend? These aren't secretive games of beer pong played in the quarterback's musty garage or basement when his parents are out of town; they're full on, backyard ragers that somehow never get broken up by the police. Whatever happened to underaged drinking laws and noise complaints?
The ... Relations
Yeah, we know that high schoolers have sex; no one's arguing that point. But what about when Collin wanted to have a threesome with Jenna and Angelique, or when he assumed that he and Jenna were in an open relationship? Is it now old-fashioned and prudish to be shocked by the idea that 17-year-olds are totally cool with polyamorous and boundary-free relationships?
The Cheerleading Uniforms
Sure, it's a high-school movie/TV show trope that's been used to death, but cheerleaders don't actually wear their uniforms all day long. And what about Jake Rosati's letterman jacket? It's starting to look like the 1960s around here again ...
The Post-Breakup Friendships
How BFFs Matty and Jake managed to both date Jenna without killing each other is a mystery. How Jenna later allowed Jake to date her own best friend, Tamara, thus creating the famed BFGFBFF is another mystery. And how Matty managed to stay friends with Jenna after she dumped him for Collin is the biggest mystery of all. When a real high school relationship ends, former lovers often go so far as to come up with all new walking routes between classes in order to stay as far away from one another as humanly possible. Friends pick sides. Hatred-based alliances are formed.
But wait a second. What if "Awkward" is so wrong that it's right? If high school is a bastion of questionable choices, overblown rumors and ridiculously shortened text-message lingo, then the craziness of "Awkward" is oh-so-fitting. We'll just call it Hollywood magic and continue to lap up all the delicious drama while living vicariously through the antics of Jenna, Tamara, Matty and Jake.
Related
Before You Go
