Review of Short Term 12

First of all, full disclosure, I have basically been the main character of this film. I worked for many years in group homes with troubled teens. I encountered all of the situations in this film and more. So, the only issues I have with the film are nit-picky ones. For instance, the summary describes this as a group home when it more accurately should be called a residential facility. Group homes are by nature a more "home-like" atmosphere and are not constructed with cinder blocks. Also, some of the posters and such would never be allowed to be displayed because of inappropriate content. And residents/clients/consumers (labels change depending on what is judged as politically correct) would never be allowed to have access to scissors unsupervised. Anyway, despite all that it is an accurate portrayal of what the day to day routine is like working in a group home or residential facility. In fact, it's very close to the movie I fantasized about making while working. People have a hard time understanding how you can be in a situation that goes from being spit upon to having an intimate emotional moment with that same person. It was a great short and I highly recommend it, especially to those who have worked with adolescents.