I liked it, I really think it was a great movie. However, I have to disagree about the realism. I don't believe that it is realistic, nor do I think it is meant to be. The characters in Twelve and Holding do not react the way every day kids do, rather they react the way every kid wishes he could. They seem to take the fantasy world of children and act it out in ways no real child ever would.

While a real child may fantasize about locking his obese mother up in a room and forcing her to lose weight; in our world, that dream remains a fantasy. Likewise, a real twelve year old girl is far more likely to live out her crush in fantasy than she is to break into the guys house, strip off her clothes, and offer herself to him.

I don't believe that the unreal nature of the film detracts from it however, I believe it enhances it. Had the writer chosen to restrict himself to reality, the movie would have been an introspective, dialogue driven piece not unlike so many other coming of age films. By having the children act out their inner fantasies no matter how absurd they might be, the writer is able to take this film in a direction no other coming of age film I know of does.

The movie feels realistic because the emotions are real. I believe this is how real children in such situations would feel and the actions these children take are the actions any child in such a situation would dream of taking but would never dare. In the world of Twelve and Holding, those dreams take flight, in our world they would just be fantasies.