This vintage film seeks to offer emotional reassurance to troubled youths, but fails to do so in strange ways. Howard is a C-student who wants to make Aâs desperately. However, when he falls short of his goals he ends up in trouble. His teacher sends him to see the principal, who gives Howard a âhelpfulâ lecture. Amazingly, Mr. Edmunds counsels Howard that he shouldnât have such high expectations for himself, but that he should keep himself emotionally balanced. Without the dangerously high expectation, he can focus on âattackingâ the problem. There is a great scene where other kids are shown doing some activity that they hope to excel in, double-exposed so that they have the âfantasyâ double of themselves right next to them, for example, one girl is singing next to a grand piano with a double exposure of herself next to her dressed in fancy costume, singing. But the overall message of the film is to temper expectations in order to not get swept away by possible failures â a ...
