My So-Called High School Rank Review

High School has become more stressful as we evolve as a country. The directing duo of Ricki Stern and Anne Sundberg take a deep dive into the pressures of balancing school, grades, college, and the future with My So-Called High School Rank.

So in watching this, as a parent, it blows my mind to watch something where we are still pressuring our kids to this idea that college is the thing everyone needs to do. I understand that our parents, parents, and parents all had this thing made up can’t get a good job unless we go to college. I am not discrediting those who WANT to go to college or the importance of specific parts that are important. However, society still lives by this book and is out of touch.

I can invite 80-90 friends to a musical and tell me I did great but it’s not going to be the same if my dad for just a second said that was pretty good. 

Another thing that hasn’t been touched on well yet, that Directors Stern and Sundberg touched elegantly, was the pandemic and its effect on kids. So many kids worldwide have school as their getaway, no matter what that is, from their neighborhood, abusive parents, and life in general. It was traumatic for so many, and with kids evolving daily, they missed out on so much.

You can’t help but appreciate what Stern and Sunberg did throughout this doc by blending the heart of the message and these stories. The message never wavered once, and they let the stars of the story be the stars and made you feel that emotional impact from everyone involved. The duo’s work should not go unrecognized cause what they did was amazing.

Another critical element was composer Paul Brill’s incredible score. It’s not often that a score is the glue that holds a documentary together, but it was game-changing in the case of My So-Called High School Rank. One of my favorite scores of the year.

Overall, My So-Called High School Rank was a fascinating and brilliant look that shows that maybe we should have a little more faith in our future generation. I loved the heart that I saw in this beautiful documentary.