AllMovie

Standing by Yourself is a 2002 documentary that marked the directing debut of filmmaker Josh Koury. Set in Clinton, New York, a suburb of Utica, the film follows Koury's maladjusted teenage younger brother and his rambunctious best friend Josh, who share social and economic frustrations of living in a small town. They express their pent-up energy and anger through pranks, loitering and mild acts of rebellion, but their friendship is ruptured when Josh's behavior spirals out of control and he gets in trouble with the law. By the film's end, the once-inseparable friends barely know each other as they move into different social spheres.