Middle School: The Worst Years of My Life Parent Guide

For some students, middle school may indeed be the worst years of their teen lives. But those difficult years won’t be improved by seeing Middle School: The Worst Years of My Life. The movie’s mantra is “rules aren’t for everyone”. It’s a silly slogan that the script justifies by pitting one boy against the most inept group of adult characters ever assembled in one zip code.

Rafe (Griffen Gluck), a creative, artsy student, has just transferred to his third school of the year. The reasons why aren’t addressed until late in the film. (And then the reveal feels both sappy and unrealistic.) His single, working mother Jules (Lauren Graham) sends him off to his first day of class with a hug and a stern reminder that things had better work.

Yet before he’s even inside the front doors, he runs into Principal Dwight (Andy Daly), a narcissistic educator who has penned an entire encyclopedia of rules for his students to follow. By the time Rafe makes his way to the remedial class with the rest of the “losers”, he finds himself sitting in front of the class bully. And things aren’t any better when school is out. His mother turns after-school childcare duties over to her neighbor Carl (Rob Riggle), a crass, abusive, full-of-himself loafer who berates Rafe and his sister Georgia (Alexa Nisenson) while trying to spark a relationship with their mom.

With no competent adults to turn to for help or advice, Rafe’s only option (in the movie world at least) is rebellion. And that he does with the help of his sidekick Leo (Thomas Barbusca). Together they embark on a campaign of rule breaking that involves vandalism, graffiti, breaking and entering, credit card theft and underage driving. While their antics are both illegal and dangerous, they are played for comedy in this story.

However for real teens dealing with complex challenges like bullying, death in the family, divorce or blended families, the script offers absolutely no reasonable suggestions for coping. Instead it is littered with crude terms and some profanities (including a sly referral to a sexual expletive), name-calling, a cast of stereotypical racial characters and at least a couple of agenda items.

Maybe most disappointing is the “I don’t fit in” message we repeatedly see in movies aimed at tweens and teens. No question, the middle school years can be tough as kids start to figure out life, friendships and their future. But I worry this constant media message of being an outsider can make youth feel more isolated and even intolerant of others. And that idea becomes more dangerous when adults are seen as the enemy and rebellion is the only way to fit in.

About author

Kerry Bennett

Kerry Bennett is interested in media from both a journalist and parent perspective. Along with authoring articles for several family-oriented publications, she has written for Parent Previews for over 15 years. As a parent herself, she believes parents play a powerful role in teaching media literacy in their homes.