Try Harder! (2021)

By: Mike Ward on Thursday, December 23

NR Running Time: 85 mins

SHOULD I SEE IT?

YES

Try Harder! is a sobering, enlightening documentary analyzing the increased stress and strain placed upon high school seniors as they attend one of the most competitive high schools in the nation - Lowell High School in San Francisco.
Topical and timely, director Debbie Lum steps out of the way and lets the kids share their experiences and stories to draw personal connections for viewers.
Light-hearted enough to be funny and charming, while also making a direct and targeted statement on whether this generation of kids are able to withstand everything thrown at them.

NO

Because it is light-hearted and aims to be a crowd-pleaser, some may find the film doesn’t dig hard enough to make an impact with its intent.
Though the setting works well, one cannot wonder if this concept would work better at a less prestigious, more middle-of-the-road school that more viewers can relate to.
This is a widely praised film, so I cannot really steer you away from watching Try Harder!. This is a top-tier documentary and quite enlightening and entertaining.

OUR REVIEW

The rigors of performing at an elite academic level are brought to the forefront in a terrific new documentary, Try Harder!, from director Debbie Lum. Lum and her team embedded for a year at Lowell High School in San Francisco, a public high school which, at the time of filming, required a standard-based admissions practice and is considered one of the most academically successful high schools in the nation.

Lowell has a student population of a majority of Asian-American students, and so people will likely insert the general stereotypes of academically-focused, “Tiger Mom”-style parents and lofty expectations and all the rest. In reality, while all of these students are clearly academically-focused, these are not kids-as-machines. Lowell is not pumping out kids on a conveyor belt to be the next doctors, scientists, and world-leaders. In largely focusing on five specific students, four seniors and one junior, we begin to see that Lowell is actually something of a blessing and a curse when it comes to being accepted into the most prestigious of colleges, especially if those schools are located in California.

Make no mistakes though: These kids function and perform at a very high level and for many of Lowell’s seniors, the end game is one-and-the-same for these students: College acceptance. Lum is savvy enough to allow these students to be themselves - expressing hesitations, stress and anxiety, insecurities and disagreements with parents, while showing us their efforts to try and take some ownership of their path and the expectations placed upon them by the adults in their lives.

Where Lum’s film could turn cold and unfeeling, booksmart and focused on academics, she pivots to moments of genuine levity in her storytelling. Of the five students we lock in on, Alvan is exceptional at math but has a special bond with Mr. Shapiro, a beloved science teacher whose health challenges provide a layer of emotional depth the movie uses appropriately and effectively.

In the end, though 4.7 GPAs are no big deal for these students - their challenges remain very real to them. Rachael is biracial and not only struggling with who she and how the world sees her, but also is grappling with the decision to stay close to home as her mother all but demands she move across the country to experience new friends and adventures. Ian is a gifted writer, able to remove himself from the kinetic energy around collegial expectations and provide commentary and observations on what Lowell is really like. Sophia is a workhorse, balancing AP classes and an after-school job with an uncertain future, while Shea, a kind-hearted junior from a broken home is just beginning to pre-apply for colleges and position himself for a run at the “best schools,” handling most of these steps on his own.

Amusingly, a student beloved by everyone, Johnathan Chu, easily the most popular kid at Lowell is shown but never speaks on camera, amplifying the almost celebrity-like status he has whenever he walks down a hall or into a classroom.

While this would fit perfectly on a streaming platform (PBS will feature the film on its upcoming season of “Independent Lens”), Try Harder! is a thoughtful gem of a discovery. While we may not all know how it feels to be rejected from top universities, we all have felt that anxiousness and self-reflection that comes with graduation and stepping out into the “real world.” Though trepidations which come with leaving home and “adulting.” Lum is as fascinated with these students as we are, taking us on a journey good for the soul, the heart, and the mind.

CAST & CREW

Documentary Featuring: Alvan Cai, Shealand Fairchild, Rachael Schmidt, Richard Shapiro, Ian Wang, Sophia Wu

Director: Debbie Lum
Written by: Spencer Nakasako
Release Date: December 3, 2021
Greenwich Entertainment

Try Harder! is a sobering, enlightening documentary analyzing the increased stress and strain placed upon high school seniors as they attend one of the most competitive high schools in the nation - Lowell High School in San Francisco.

Topical and timely, director Debbie Lum steps out of the way and lets the kids share their experiences and stories to draw personal connections for viewers.

Light-hearted enough to be funny and charming, while also making a direct and targeted statement on whether this generation of kids are able to withstand everything thrown at them.

Because it is light-hearted and aims to be a crowd-pleaser, some may find the film doesn’t dig hard enough to make an impact with its intent.

Though the setting works well, one cannot wonder if this concept would work better at a less prestigious, more middle-of-the-road school that more viewers can relate to.

This is a widely praised film, so I cannot really steer you away from watching Try Harder!. This is a top-tier documentary and quite enlightening and entertaining.