High School Boot Camp (2000)
Film:
DVD:

Directed by Chuck Braverman

Features:

• Running audio commentary by director Chuck Braverman, music composer Max Braverman, and sound technician Marilyn Lennon-Braverman
  
• Additional interviews
  
• "Where Are They Now?"
  
• Filmmakers bios
  
• Stills gallery
  

Released by: New Video/Docurama
Rating: NR
Region: 1
Anamorphic: N/A; appears in its orignal 1.33:1 format.

My Advice: Rent it.

In Belle Glade, Florida, there's a place that at-risk youth can go to basically get some help to straighten up and fly right. Forty-nine of them get on a bus--willingly--and they all have problems. They steal, they do drugs, they are disrespectful, they just flat out don't think their education or much of anything else is a priority. However. They get off the bus--nay, are literally chased off the bus--by drill instructors working with the sheriff's office there in the community. Then they are subjected to weeks of military-style training, discipline and education in an effort to keep them from getting any further down the wrong path.

The way that Braverman structured this docu--it's hard to fault him. You get some interviews with the kids and their families, then you get to see them round the flagpole, passing the drill instructors once before coming the rest. This gives the kids a perfect "Oh shit, what have I gotten myself into?" moment before the madness begins. But there is definite method to this madness. In talking with the staff behind the Academy, you get the full story as to why they're doing what they're doing and in that particular style. You also see the program start to work, which is important.

What's good is that the program, as Braverman shows us, isn't just concerned with the kids or their grades--this is a program that actually tries to treat the disease rather than the symptoms. There are group counseling sessions with parents to try and get them to change what they do...after all, it's no good to change the kid if when they get back home they're thrust right back into the same environment that was the source of their original problems, right? The parents and kids learn to meet each other halfway, and the first visit they have, watching these parents talk to their kids and feel like there's actual hope of saving their relationship...man, it's hard not to be moved by all that.

One thing that I wish Braverman had included, though I guess it wasn't really in his scope, was some community reaction to all of this. Specifically, I would have been amused to see those who perhaps thought that the program was too hard on the little kiddies...you know, the whiners among the citizens. Not that I agree with them, but it's always good to get them on camera looking like idiots. Call it a personal bias, feel free.

The array of features is pretty solid here. Braverman, his son (who wrote the music), and his wife (who handled sound), are on hand to talk about their experience in making the film. It's a nice commentary, as you can tell they all got attached to some of the kids and early on, with one kid who dropped out of the program, they mention that they couldn't even find him when it came time to do the follow-up interviews. So there's some heartbreak associated with this. You know going into that they're not going to be able to save everybody, but these are just kids, so you hold out hope. They also drop some interesting tidbits, like how the families were very open in discussing their problems, attributed to the fact that the entire film crew consisted of Braverman and his wife.

The additional interviews provided, which are interesting to have for posterity, don't have anything truly eye-opening. The stills gallery and bios are much the same. What will get your attention, though, is the "Where Are They Now?" section, which catches you up to date on some of the featured kids. Two are doing well and seem to be adjusted, the rest are kind of up in the air. One backslid and is now pretty much where he started and one really cute little boy, we're told, is in jail so he couldn't be interviewed. Je-sus, that's terrible.

While this isn't necessarily one to own, except maybe if you're a teacher or counselor and want to show the kids under your care how good they have it and what can happen if they continue to screw around, it's certainly something worth watching. If you have kids, it'll make you either grateful that yours aren't true hellions or if they are, it will at least let you know there's action that can be taken to try and make it better.