Don't listen to the negative reviews

This is a tender, generous movie that likes its characters and presents them as real people, full of flaws and strengths.

It was OK. I don't see why everyone loves it so much. It wasn't very smart or deep or well-directed.

Let me be very fair here, this is not the best movie in my opinion. But, this movie is fun, it has purpose and is very enjoyable to watch.

While the problems addressed by this 2012 film are important, this may not be the best film to see if you're concerned with the issue. It's told in a semi-dream-like state with cuts and some flash-back flash-forward confusion making it hard to get the characters set in your mind. A framing scene that would introduce the characters and help the audience identify who's who, right up-front would have been helpful. The subject IS important and I'm glad to see films that address these issues but it could have been SO much better. Watch O Beautiful (2002) (available on You-tube) for an example of a film that immediately understandable and deals with gay bashing. Personally, I felt that the "homeless uncle" aspects of this film just added a level of complication that the story-line didn't really need. If it was important to the film maker to include those aspects of the story, then I feel that more of the surrounding details should have been included as well. The actors here were cute enough to capture and hold my interest though I WAS confused as to who delivered the locker-room beating. I thought it was the bully brother not the gay kid himself. That was only cleared up for me in therapy.

recreation of a puzzle. about a serious social theme. good acting. and few stories. the bullying. and the self definition. frustrations, fear, mask and the fall. one of great films for the delicate and precise manner to define and remind well ignored aspects of teenagers life. its important virtue is to dig in the essence of problem in the best manner. and this is the motif for define Teens Like Phil like a manifesto. because it has the force to change the viewer. not for resurrection of memories from school period but for the nuanced portrait of teen gay. few pictures. a touch. few words. and the hate who change everything. so simple ! the film has the science to expose this simplicity in its complex, painful aspects. and this detail does Teens Like Phil a must see film.

I found it hard to watch when Adam beat up poor Phil because he really took the side of being evil really. I think it was totally wrong like the kid had a lot on his plate. His uncle is homeless and living in a forest with no shelter. All he had left were photos of his lover and family pictures. The guy probably felt ashamed of his sexuality and just ran away as if he didn't exist and just rot away which is so tragically heartbreaking. I swear I was near to tears when Phil found out he passed away from starvation and nearly took his own life. I'm glad Phil found help and told the rest of the other people about experience of himself being bullied that someone he loved but brutally abused him in school. This really doesn't have to be in films like this, it's everywhere you go basically! Bullying is damaging so stand up to a person you trust and stop it! There will be a light at the end of the tunnel waiting for you :)

The title of this short is a good one because, although this specific short is about a character called Phil, really the story is bigger than him and he is just one example of Teens Like Phil. If this sounds like a worthy aim for a short film, then you are right, because it is a rather "important" subject and the weight of it does at times sit heavily on the shoulders of the film as a whole. However it mostly deals with this well because it not only merits the weight in the subject, but it also delivers it in a way that is fragmented but still complements the material.In some ways the structure belies the longer running time, because it has a rather awkward narrative style that made me think that it belonged in a much shorter film – or that it would probably not be able to keep it up for the whole 20 minutes. It does though, and it is effective in the fragmented approach because of what it delivers in those fragments. The exploratory awkwardness is tangible, but so is the fallout from it, as well as the reasons for Adam's violent reaction towards Phil. I appreciated the film being this way, because it looks at both sides – not just to say the bullied are who they are, but also to reach out to the other side and see that often there is a background to why people feel/act a certain way – as there is with Adam and his family. This varied view works well with the approach and structure, and I was engaged throughout.Technically well made, the film does struggle with some of the performances. Luckily the main actors of Donovan and Robbins are very good, but some supporting adult roles such as Shatto, Bartholomew, and Galati have clunkier moments – perhaps not all their fault. The use of a lecture from Alex Watts as a form of narration had the potential to be really obvious and preachy, but actually it fits very well indeed with the tone, content and structure of the film. All told it is very emotive, engaging, and natural; the broad view is informed by small details, which are picked out well by the structure of the film, and the longer running time is busy and well paced. It is a hard watch in many ways – but mainly because the film delivers a challenging story that is all too real and common.