{"id":7776,"date":"2018-11-27T20:00:55","date_gmt":"2018-11-27T18:00:55","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.samdb.co.za\/blogs\/?p=7776"},"modified":"2018-11-27T20:00:55","modified_gmt":"2018-11-27T18:00:55","slug":"teen-film-culture-welcomes-fresh-new-faces-to-the-big-screen-with-status-update","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.samdb.co.za\/blogs\/blog\/2018\/11\/27\/teen-film-culture-welcomes-fresh-new-faces-to-the-big-screen-with-status-update\/","title":{"rendered":"Teen Film Culture Welcomes Fresh New Faces To The Big Screen With ‘Status Update’"},"content":{"rendered":"

As if high school wasn\u2019t torturous enough for some teens, they\u2019re now subjected to the cruelty of believing everyone\u2019s life around them is better than theirs. And it\u2019s all there on display in perfectly filtered pictures. But while social media makes everyone\u2019s lives seems flawless, in truth, without the filters, none are\u2026<\/p>\n

STATUS UPDATE follows the usual teen film culture but the film spices up the stereotypical with comedy, fantasy, and a moral lesson.\u00a0 With a combination of talented fresh faces like Ross Lynch and Olivia Holt, the movie is a commentary on the current situation on social media.\u00a0 The film opens up at 33 cinemas around South African on 30 November, 2018.<\/p>\n

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Directed by Scott Speer and written by Jason Filardi, STATUS UPDATE offers a glimpse of what life would be like if your dreams came\u00a0true every time you updated your status.\u00a0 The film also sees Gregg Sulkin and Courtney Eaton join the cast with a handful of proven actors such as Rob Riggle, Wendi McLendon-Covery and John Michael Higgins, which makes for an exciting and hilarious ensemble.<\/p>\n

The movie features former Disney Channel star, Ross Lynch, as the quintessential California kid Kyle, who is uprooted when his parents split, and his mom takes him and his younger sister cross-country to Connecticut.\u00a0 At Kyle\u2019s new school, he meets the usual suspects \u2013 Lonnie, the nerd who becomes Kyle\u2019s best friend; Dani, the girl of Kyle\u2019s dreams; and Derek, the jock and Kyle\u2019s nemesis.\u00a0 As expected, Kyle is a total fish out of water and his first day consists of one humiliating incident after another, resulting in his cell phone being smashed by bullies, led by Derek. But everything changes when he goes to the mall to get his broken phone fixed.\u00a0 There he meets a strange, seemingly insightful cell phone salesman, who introduces him to YOUniverse, a mysterious app that effectively turns his phone into a 21st century Aladdin\u2019s lamp.<\/p>\n

Kyle soon discovers that with just one sentence, he can get whatever he asks for \u2013 whether it’s a visit from his father, the voice to win a part in the school talent show, or the talent to threaten the hockey captain\u2019s dominance on the ice. \u00a0But with great power comes great temptation, and Kyle begins to want more and more. In a matter of weeks, the new kid turns into the school\u2019s most popular all-rounder \u2013 he becomes the person every guy wants to be, and every girl wants to date.<\/p>\n

As in life \u2013 and every other wish fulfilment film \u2013 when something seems too good to be true, it often is. Kyle finds himself the victim of his own desire for acceptance and social media fame. Can he set things straight and make amends with those he hurt?<\/p>\n

\u201cThe goal was to create a story that was relevant today but had the fun and heartfelt feeling of a John Hughes comedy, a magical, modern day fairy tale not unlike Big or 17 Again, and then bring that story to the big screen. I think the team behind STATUS UPDATE accomplished that and more,\u201d says Filardi.<\/p>\n

STATUS UPDATE is distributed by Filmfinity (Pty) Ltd and will be shown in the following cinemas around the country:<\/p>\n