Thank you for writing this so that I didn't have to. I agree with your points. I loved this film as a teenager as well but now I have a much deeper appreciation for it. While there are teenagers in the film, the themes are much more about adult relationships. My only criticism of the film is that it can be very difficult to watch, but this is because it's so damn good at conveying how dysfunctional a relationship, a family can be due to lack of communication and empathy. The crazy thing is that while some extraordinary things happen in the film, much of it isn't that much of a stretch... When witnessing the love between the daughter and her boyfriend, you can't help but think that the same fate awaits them that led to their parents dysfunctions. Scary stuff
Yeah it's really about how people can really internally change and yet because of previous circumstances be forced to live out a life they were not happy with and did not expect. The teens in the movie thought they were rebelling against their parents but really, they were simply doing the same thing as Lester and Carolyn trying to fill a void which they didn't understand. I could easily see them falling into the same traps.When witnessing the love between the daughter and her boyfriend, you can't help but think that the same fate awaits them that led to their parents dysfunctions. Scary stuff