If Welcome to the Dollhouse is the ultimate treatise on how many humiliating things you can do to one adolescent, Towelhead might just be close behind.  The main difference is this:  Dawn Weiner was supposed to be unattractive, awkward and pretty much the opposite of sexy.  Towelhead's Jasira, on the other hand, is gorgeous, and although only 13, realizing to both her delight and horror that she is a man magnet.

I couldn't remember the last time I went to see a movie in the theater, but Towelhead (based on the novel of the same name by Alicia Erian, and also billed as Nothing is Private) is well worth the cost of rising ticket prices.  On the way back home, my roommate and I listed off every issue we could think of that the movie addressed:  racism, Islamophobia, sexual violence, domestic violence, sexuality, masturbation, statutory rape, war...the list goes on.

Doesn't sound like a fun way to spend your Saturday night?  Actually, you'll laugh your head off.  Although there are countless squirmingly uncomfortable scenes, hilarious moments generously strewn throughout the film balance the sheer gravity of the subject matter.  Towelhead's lead actress, Summer Bishil (who for being 18 at the time of filming pulls off a very convincing 8th-grader), deserves much of the credit for the film's success.  She plays Jasira just as most 13-year-olds are:  A chaotic mixture of precociousness, innocence, sexual awakening and wide-eyed curiosity.

The film's brilliance comes from its adept handling of incredibly complex issues.  Alan Ball, Towelhead's director and screenwriter, doesn't lose any nuance in his depictions.  Towelhead presents issues of youth and sexuality as they truly are--a mess!  But it deftly explores the thin line between what an adolescent might be ready for--masturbation and exploring one's body--and what an adolescent is definitely not ready for--a sexual relationship with an adult.  It asserts that just because someone is developing into a sexual being doesn't mean that they are ready to actually engage in sexual experiences with another person.

A number of reviews have described Jasira (disturbingly) as a "nymphet," but make no mistake, Towelhead is no modern-day Lolita.  The plot is presented almost exclusively through Jasira's perspective; very little attention is paid to the inner thoughts of the adults in the film.  But most importantly, Jasira is not defined by the violations she endures.  She still claims her sexuality as her own, and will not let any figure trying to control her take that away from her.  And herein lies Jasira's triumph.