The film follows four teenagers in the Northern California city of Palo Alto. Teddy and Fred are a couple of teen stoners. Teddy is artistically inclined, but Fred constantly gets the pair into trouble with his reckless behavior. Emily has a reputation as the promiscuous girl. April is a shy student who is made fun of by her classmates for still being a virgin, and is also teased by her soccer teammates because of their coach Mr. B.'s favoritism of her. At soccer practice, Mr. B., who is a divorced father, asks April to babysit his son Michael again because he is going on a date. In return, he offers her the striker position.
Teddy and April have unspoken feelings for each other. At a party, they drink alcohol with everyone and get jealous seeing each other flirt with and kiss other people. Teddy and Fred get into a car crash after leaving the party. A police officer pulls Teddy over and arrests him for driving under the influence. Instead of serving any jail time, he is placed on probation and ordered to perform community service at a children's library.
While Teddy is doing his community service, Fred visits him and draws a penis in a children's book; Teddy later gets in trouble for both this and carving April's name into a bench. When Teddy goes to Fred's house to talk to him, Fred's father Mitch, also a stoner, makes Teddy uncomfortable by hitting on him. Teddy is later moved to a nursing home for his volunteer work, and he bonds with seniors over the portraits he draws of them.
Meanwhile, Fred sets his sights on Emily, who invites him back to her home where they have sex. Although Emily has genuine feelings for Fred, he treats her as nothing more than a hookup. In a voiceover, he admits that at a friend's house, he got her naked in a bed so multiple guys could rape her.
Mr. B. and April grow closer, and after she misses soccer practice because of falling behind in school, he offers to help her with schoolwork. During a study session, he kisses her, but tells her he is hesitant about pursuing anything further with her because she is underage. April says she understands and kisses him back. In class, Teddy's art teacher observes Fred's art and tells him how he went down the "tunnel of death" and realized he is "not Bob" as he drove down the highway.
April expresses her frustration with Mr. B because he has lessened communication with her. He apologizes and claims he’s in love with her. April dismisses him and says she needs to date guys her own age, against his protestations. One night, the soccer team has a bad game, with April missing multiple chances to score. Mr. B offers her a ride back home but takes her back to his place, which is empty because Michael is staying at his mom's. April loses her virginity to Mr. B. that night. Later, while babysitting, April learns from Michael that Mr. B employs another babysitter, her teammate Raquel. Realizing the coach's predatory nature, April breaks things off with him.
At a party, Fred begs Emily to go night swimming with him. She goes with him to a pool but when he undresses and gets in, she declines on joining him. They get into an argument, with Fred calling her derogatory names and threatening her. Emily smashes a beer bottle on his head, injuring him and shattering his bravado. Teddy and April are also at the party and find themselves reconnecting. Teddy confesses his love for April, surprising her because they do not talk often.
With his head bleeding, Fred asks Teddy to accompany him to buy weed from drug dealer Skull. During their meetup with Skull, Fred acts increasingly erratic and holds a large chef's knife. Afterwards, Fred insists on driving down a one-way street. Teddy, worried by his friend’s behavior, asks to be let out. Fred drives down the street alone, repeating "I'm not Bob" as oncoming cars swerve out of his way. As Teddy walks home, April sends him a text message that makes him smile.
On review aggregate website Rotten Tomatoes, Palo Alto carries a 70% rating based on 129 reviews, with an average rating of 6.2/10. The site’s critics consensus states: "A promising debut for director Gia Coppola, Palo Alto compensates for its drifting plot with solid performances and beautiful cinematography."[11] On Metacritic, the film has a rating of 69 out of 100, based on 34 reviews, signifying "generally favorable reviews".[12]
Ian Freer of Empire gave the film 4 stars out of 5, calling it a "terrific, truthful, portrait of teenage lives, delivered with a naturalness and compassion of which seasoned directors can only dream." He praised the performances, particularly Emma Roberts', who he said "is the standout, heartbreaking as she suggests longings and anxieties without over-hyping it. Much like the film itself."[13]Tom Shone of The Guardian also acclaimed Roberts as the "standout", giving the film 3 stars out of 5. He also lauded Gia Coppola's "eye for cool composition", for posing Roberts against "repetitive, bland, pastel-colored surfaces" until her "pale, luminous beauty pops." However, he felt that away from Roberts, "the film drifts and drags, and some of the image-making is rote."[14] Other reviews critiqued the film as feeling "incomplete", with underdeveloped plots and characters.[3][15]
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