MINI-REVIEW: My Entire High School Sinking Into the Sea

Courtesy of GKIDS

During the summer movie season, I also try to speak up for the little guys in independent cinema whenever I can. It just so happens you’ve got a chance to see a funny, surprisingly sharp satire of high school politics on the same weekend one of the year’s biggest blockbusters opens. The problem is that it’s only playing in a single Atlanta theater as opposed to hundreds around the metro area.

It’s an animated film with a deceptively simplistic style, focusing on a group of sophomores who must fight to stay alive when an earthquake causes their school to fall into the ocean. As the building sinks and the body count rises, a group of students must make their way to the roof if they have a chance of being rescued.

The voice cast – including Jason Schwartzman, Reggie Watts, Maya Rudolph, Lena Dunham and Susan Sarandon – is delightfully droll, underplaying every catastrophic event that plays out in front of them. But before you write this off as yet another piece of hipster anti-comedy, know that writer-director Dash Shaw (who shares his name with the title character) introduces real stakes and addresses vital issues that teenagers grapple with on a daily basis.

Even if you don’t make it to Atlanta to see My Entire High School Sinking Into the Sea, give it a shot once it hits Blu-ray, On Demand, Netflix, etc. It’s definitely a unique viewing experience.

My Entire High School Sinking Into the Sea is rated PG-13 for some images of peril, sexual references and drug material. Now playing at Midtown Art in Atlanta.

Grade: B+