As an awkward human, I like to find characters in movies that I can relate to. I need a confirmation in popular media that I am not the only person in the world that makes others uncomfortable with a joke that flat-lines or has little to no friends. However, I rarely find that special someone that reflects myself on the big screen. I cannot relate to the brave Wonder Woman or the suave George Clooney because I am neither of those things. I know that there are other awkward people out there that need to get away from the adventurous, bad-ass characters on-screen and come back to Earth. Us awkward people are people too and we need more movies that reflect who we are. To lend a hand to those people, I recommend six amazingly awkward movies with the most beautiful weirdos the world of cinema has seen within the past couple of years.
1. Lars and the Real Girl (2007)
Who
would've thought that Ryan Gosling would make an excellent awkward
hero? Ryan Gosling plays Lars, an awkward man that falls in love with
Bianca, a sex doll with an elaborate past. Not only is Lars the
sweetest man with Bianca, but the whole town goes along with it. Bianca
becomes the most popular woman in town with a job at a retail store and
even volunteering. Meanwhile, his brother and sister-in-law are
concerned about Lars (obviously) and Lars begins to seek help for Bianca
and himself. This movie, while delightfully weird, is a beautiful
story about love and how awkward people like Lars fall in love.
2. Frances Ha (2012)
Greta Gerwig, the Queen of Independent Film, wrote and starred in Frances Ha.
Frances is an amateur dancer that struggles to find herself and an
apartment after her roommate/best friend decides to move in with her
boyfriend. This black and white movie takes us through Frances's
journey through different apartments in New York City as she encounters
new people along the way, including a pre-Kylo Ren Adam Driver. This
movie is certainly for the awkward person that has to transition from
being protected from the world by that one best friend to having to be
alone and meet new people and experiences.
3. Me and Earl and the Dying Girl (2015)
Remember The Fault in Our Stars?
This is the realistic, awkward teen version of that. Thomas Mann
stars as Greg, the "terminally awkward" teen that befriends Rachel, a
girl dying of cancer. Greg spends most of his time make parody films
with his best friend/co-worker, Earl. One of the most awkward movies I
have seen to date, Me and Earl and the Dying Girl is the moving journey of opening one's self to the world, no matter how much it hurts.
4. The Edge of Seventeen (2016)
Yep, that is a Pedro haircut. Hailee Steinfeld plays Nadine, an awkward high school student who has only three friends: her best friend Krista who starts dating Nadine's brother; Erwin, the shy Asian boy who likes to make movies and not so secretly crushes on Nadine; and her history teacher, Mr. Bruner. Nadine's awkwardness gets from bad to worse when she tries to let go of her best friend and find herself through a series of just plain sad moments.
5. The Way Way Back (2013)
Remember your first summer job? Remember that time your divorced mom dated an absolute nightmare? The Way Way Back tells this story through the eyes of Duncan, the awkward teen at the center of it all. Duncan, trying to get away from the house of his mom's awful boyfriend, begins to work at a water park and befriends the outgoing and hilarious manager. Duncan goes through a lot of ups and downs in his summer vacation, but he learns that he is not a 3 out of 10, but a 10 out of 10 (must see the movie to get that reference).
6. Hello, My Name is Doris (2015)
Finally, if you are a young, awkward person and want to see your future, watch Hello, My Name is Doris. Doris is an elderly hoarder that works at a company entirely run by young hipsters. When she develops a crush on a co-worker that is half her age, Doris goes to extreme lengths to hook up with him. This is probably one of the most hilarious, yet frustrating movies, but I highly recommend it!
