The Perks of Being a Wallflower
This deeply felt coming-of-age drama follows a high-school freshman navigating friendship, first love, and repressed childhood trauma. It handles its subjects with real care, but the content — including sexual abuse themes, teen drug and alcohol use, a suicide backstory, and emotional crisis — is firmly aimed at older teens.
Best suited for mature teens around 15 and up, ideally watched with a parent ready to talk afterward.
If you’d rather skip
Charlie mentions that his best friend died by suicide before the school year started; this is referenced with sadness but not shown.
Charlie attends a party where teens drink; he unknowingly eats a marijuana brownie, becomes visibly intoxicated, and later wakes up in a hospital.
A fight breaks out in the school cafeteria after a student is harassed; punching and kicking are shown and a teen is seen with visible bruises and a bloody face after being beaten off-screen by his father.