If you ever wanted to read the thought bubbles floating around the hallways at school, then Say What You Mean - Mean What You Say is the movie for you. Submitted as part of the 2007 Young Cuts Film Festival, this six-minute short is a teen comedy made by teens. It's not only funny but also poignant because, unlike real teens, the characters can't help blurting out whatever's on their minds.

Writer-director David Thomson wastes no time exploiting his concept, picking things up during morning announcements. ("F**k you and have a terrible day," says a drunken voice on the intercom, sounding like Principal Rooney's secretary in Ferris Bueller's Day Off.) We're introduced to our tour guide through the school, Tim (Jules Mercier), who excuses himself from class ("Excuse me, Ms. Bitch-face") and proceeds to wander the halls. There's no plot; just a series of characters like in Richard Linklater's Slacker. Tim encounters a jock ("I'm constantly suppressing my homos*xuality") and an ex-girlfriend ("A little piece of me dies every time I see you").

I seem to be quoting a lot of dialogue here, probably because it's amusing and Thomson has such a terrific ear for it. But Say What You Mean - Mean What You Say is more than just a funny movie. Parts of it remind me of the young-adult novels of David Levithan, an author with keen insight into the gap between personal feelings and social situations in the teen years. A scene with a couple (played by Heather Morrison and Ed Mendez) who've recently broken up ("I was just thinking how awkward it would be if I ran into you") is as hilarious as it is devastating.

Teen and adult performers deliver their lines in the same smart-ass comedic style. The scene-stealer is Josh Beaudry as a janitor who cheerfully informs Tim he's on his list of students to kill. Sound, camerawork and editing are all above-average for a high school production.