I'm going to pretend that they accidentally deleted the real ending, in which it was all a virtual reality simulation that Alex was "playing" to overcome his past trauma and learn how to come out of his shell and make friends. The convenient clues for where to go and what to do next and the abundance of expendable or incapable adults seemed like a setup to guide him through an adventure. If that had been the case, I would have really enjoyed this movie. Suspension of disbelief can only get you so far...