For a movie that deals with heavy topics, including the foster-care system, teen suicide, and abuse, Short Term 12 provides emotional insight and a few laughs for viewers. It chronicles the story of Grace and Mason, workers at a foster-care facility who are caring for teenagers. But, the couple has problems of their own, some brought to light by their work with troubled teens.
The movie is based on its writer and director’s, Destin Daniel Cretton’s, firsthand experiences working in foster group homes when he was 21-years-old. He told Jansing & Co. on Monday morning he was forced to “think about questions like what kind of parent did I want to be when I grew up and what residue was kind of left on me from my parents and other influential people in my life.”
Actress Brie Larson is one of the stars of Short Term 12, and her character, Grace, works with troubled teens. In preparation for the role she said, “I shadowed at a facility and spent some time talking with friends of Destin’s, friends of people that Destin had worked with and other line staff members to kind of get the idea of what this world was like.”
While the movie’s subject matter is serious, audiences will leave in high spirits.
“It’s also a movie about family and a movie about life that anybody can relate to,” said Destin. Short Term 12 will officially be released on August 23.
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