‘The Perks of Being a Wallflower’ is Now on Netflix, If You Want to Feel Like An Angsty Teen Again

If you’re a millennial looking to regress back to your angsty teen years this weekend, hoo boy do I have good news for you: The Perks of Being a Wallflower is now on Netflix. The 1999 book written by Stephen Chbosky—who also wrote and directed the 2012 film—was a popular coming-of-age novel, and an even more popular coming-of-age film, thanks in part to the fact that the Perks of Being a Wallflower cast included Emma Watson, Ezra Miller, Logan Lerman and more.

If you were not a book-loving teen between the years 1999 and 2012, here’s a primer: The story revolves around a quiet high school freshman named Charlie (played by Lerman in the film), who struggles with depression and anxiety. Despite his shy nature, he does manage to make a few friends—first his English teacher (Paul Rudd), and then two impossibly cool and eccentric seniors named Sam and Patrick (Watson and Miller). Sam and Patrick take Charlie under their wing and show him the wonders of intellectual teenager-dom, including weed brownies, the Rocky Horror Picture Show, and blasting music and standing on the back of a pickup truck while driving through a tunnel. It’s every cliché of white teenage angst you can think of, and I honestly love it so much.

Now, if you want to properly watch The Perks of Being a Wallflower on Netflix this weekend, I suggest you follow these steps. First, steal one (1) cigarette from your mom, dad, and/or uncle’s secret stash. Proceed to light said cigarette from the wrong end, cough up a storm, throw it out having not smoked any of it, and chug three glasses of water to get the taste out of your mouth. Next, illegally download Sonic Youth’s first album and load it up onto your iPod classic. Listen with terrible quality earbuds on while lying in your bed with the lights off. Attempt to “get it.” Give up, and search for pictures of Ezra Miller on Tumblr instead. Congratulations! You are now in the correct state of mind to watch The Perks of Being a Wallflower on Netflix. Enjoy feeling infinite!

Where to watch The Perks of Being a Wallflower