Ariela Rubin on CUSP (2021) DOC NYC 2021

 Cusp is a documentary about three teenage girls in Texas. They spend their days drinking, smoking, hanging out, talking about boys, and family issues. The documentary has no structure. It's just the three girls hanging out. I had a hard time keeping track of who was who and even following what they were talking about or what was going on. There wasn't much that was distinctive about any of them. 

The most disturbing part of Cusp is how casually the girls talk about a girl who was raped and how common sexual assault seems to be for them. They freely talk about not wanting to lose their virginity or being taken advantage of but being scared to say no. They feel that they won't be listened to. This is probably something every teenage girl has felt at some point in her life. 

As I was at one point a teenage girl, I generally love teen and coming of age movies, however, I wasn't able to connect with any of the girls and found this documentary incredibly dull, aimless, and hard to follow. I want my 83 minutes back.