Mi vida a los diecisiete

I can't say that I expected to see this movie opening weekend, or at all for that matter. But I'm glad I did. The Edge of Seventeen is an awkwardly charming coming of age tale that flirts in the same vein as some classic John Hughes 80's flicks.

I think all of us have been keeping an eye on Hailee Steinfeld since True Grit in 2010. When you can steal scenery from the likes of Jeff Bridges, Matt Damon, and Josh Brolin, you know you have someone special. The Edge of Seventeen is an entirely different genre and obstacle for Steinfeld, however. I almost think that the coming-of- age-teenage-angst-comedy-drama's are the most difficult films to reach a broad audience, perhaps even more so than westerns. I usually need something to hook me before I spend money on one of these, and that came by way of Woody Harrelson.

Harrelson play's Steinfeld's teacher and common companion at lunch when there's no one else to sit with. The brilliant thing about this relationship is that its neither too dramatic nor too goofy, the writers find a nice balance between gut busting laughs on Harrelson's end to a nice dramatic payoff in the latter half. For all the clichés that this film inevitably has, this relationship was something very refreshing and served as the highlights for most of the film.

Nadine (Steinfeld) has several issues with her mother, brother, and best friend to figure out throughout the course of the film. But it was pleasing to see that the writers didn't choose to make any one character in the right or wrong. I constantly felt like I was playing out both sides in my head as to who I believe had the right to be mad at the other or vice versa. Being in a family of 7, I can definitely relate to some of the family obstacles Nadine goes through, and it wasn't Hollywoodized just for the sake of pushing the plot forward. There's unfortunately quite a few clichéd tropes that this film ends up taking you toward, but it felt more natural than most of these types of films. This could be attributed to the welcomed R rating the film received.

It isn't for everyone, and I wouldn't even consider myself the target audience. But it speaks to larger personal and family issues than the trailer sets up. It's also one of the best Woody Harrelson performances I've seen recently, even if he is probably as reserved as he's ever been.

+Steinfeld carries this film

+With the help of the hilarious Harrelson

+Writing

-Inevitably some clichés and predictable plot points

8.0/10

I know most people would have felt sympathy for Nadine. I personally wanted her to follow through with her suicide threats at times. I always struggle to connect with protagonists who hate themselves and actively try to make situations worse by saying the wrong thing. It comes from an attention seeking place and is inherently self absorbed. Hailee Steinfeld is fantastic playing her of course, I don't fault her performance for a second. She was just not much of a character to root for. From what we see Darrian really only insults her after she insults him first, and for the most part just wants to live his life, he isn't a complete alpha male asshole who thrives on power, just a kid who happened to be born good looking and thus got what most of us want, popularity.

The movie is good, but not great. It is not as powerful and memorable as recent teen dramas that came out in recent years. It also has clichéd silly music and sitcom moments where it really should have picked a tone and stuck with it. Also Krista's character is woefully underdeveloped. Would have been nice to see a few more scenes where they confide in each other about Nadine's behaviour. Woody Harrelson elevates this from a 6 to a 7 by just being Woody Harrelson. The man turns orange juice to whisky. This movie simply could have left more of an imprint than it does.

As a fan of the "coming of age" story structure, I am happy to report that this film met my expectations in every single way. Some key plot points were predictable, but the writing, performances and soundtrack were all on point. The emotions and experiences the film conveys do not feel artificial, and Hailee Steinfeld shines! Intelligent writing and little twists here and there will likely leave you genuinely invested in the life of these characters and leave you wanting more. Woody Harrelson plays a wonderful image of a teacher dealing with his life amidst high school drama and Kyra Sedgwick's performance as a struggling mother was especially heart felt and real. This is not to be missed for fans of this genre!

Nadine (Hailee Steinfeld) loved her father and battled with her mother (Kyra Sedgwick). At 13, she lost her father. Her life is one of miserable sarcasm except for her best friend since second grade, Krista (Haley Lu Richardson). She hates her perfect brother Darian (Blake Jenner). Dorky Erwin Kim has a crush on her but she's in lust with delinquent Nick Mossman. To her horrors, Krista starts dating Darian. The only person she could turn to is equally sarcastic teacher Mr. Bruner (Woody Harrelson).

It's funny. It's touching. It's poignant. There are no superficial characters in the main group. The jokes are great. Everybody's great. Woody is a real standout. The only drawback I can remotely dig up is that Hailee Steinfeld is too pretty. She follows a long line of Hollywood beauties who dress down to do 'She's All That'. The Pedro joke is hilarious which helps a lot. However, she's never going to be Danny DeVito level. The reason it works so well is a terrific performance from Hailee. She really sells this self-obsessed bitter teen while maintaining a great likability. One roots for her and sees the world from her eyes even as everyone knows that she's wrong. Hailee shows some terrific acting talents once again.

John Hughes is an unmistakable touchstone of the coming of age 1980s high school dramedy. Films like Sixteen Candles, The Breakfast Club, Pretty in Pink and Ferris Bueller's Day Off chronicled the adolescent experience of growing up, dealing with teen angst and self-actualization while mixing in a dash of old fashioned screwball comedy which at once provides relatable laughter for the viewer while making the dramatic pills easier to swallow. All of those undeniably come to mind when watching the directorial debut of Post Grad screenwriter Kelly Fremon Craig, The Edge of Seventeen, a coming of age high school comedy about a socially awkward and unhappy teenage girl named Nadine (Hailee Steinfeld from True Grit) whose best friend enters a relationship with her hunky older brother (Blake Jenner from Everybody Wants Some). And yet it is Amy Heckerling's Fast Times at Ridgemont High that The Edge of Seventeen finds its closest antecedent in, providing at once a funny and sympathetic rom com and a decidedly darker, more explicit look at budding female sexuality in a world adorned with dumb horny males who care nothing for the heroine's plight and emotional crossroads. At times its unbearable watching Nadine suffer while at the same time the film doesn't deny her own complicitness in the creation of her teenage misery. At first on the outset this looked like another Juno/Ghost World lovechild but as it progressed I was surprised how funny, charming, touching and well thought out this portrait of adolescent fear, anxiety and depression really was. Sure we've seen this movie done to death, but The Edge of Seventeen provided a fresh spin on the proceedings that kept it from blending together with what came before it.