The Edge of Seventeen

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.

I've spent a lot of time over the years trying to figure out the humor I like and movies like this pin it down for me. I like awkward humor. Nadine is all kinds of awkward and that's what makes her relatable and adorable. You empathize with her and the problems she's going through, and through the eyes of an adult, of course you laugh at how overdramatic she is, but in a FUNNY way. It makes for some comedic relief between her and her teacher delightfully played Woody Harrelson, who just ignores her neuroses. What makes the film a pleasant experience is the way she is played by Hailee Steinfeld. There's a few minutes here and there where they venture into 'I will punch you' category, but nowhere near the insufferable 'lady bird' I had to turn off after ten minutes. Definitely a recommended film for those who empathize with growing pains.

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!

Remember all those teen movies about how much fun it is to be a teenager? Porky's, Ferris Bueller's Day Off, all those American Pie movies and movies that spend an inordinate amount of time at the beach, to name a few. These are typical teenage movies. The Edge of Seventeen is not a typical teenage movie, and that is what makes it so great. Oh, there have been other great non-typical teenage films of late, like The Perks of Being a Wallflower, but somehow Seventeen stands alone.

Perhaps it is the intense and thoroughly committed performance of Hailee Steinfeld who started her film career under the tutelage of the Cohn Brothers in their remake of True Grit (oh yeah, and was nominated for an Oscar at the age of 14, although principle filming occurred while she was 13). Hailee so captures the angst of Nadine, whose name alone sets her apart, (Nadine was the most common name given to baby girls in 1958); that one cannot help but ache for her. Nadine carries the weight of the world on her shoulders and believes herself to be unlike any of the other kids who text each other about the tacos they're eating, and communicate in emojis.

She plays well alongside her favorite teacher, portrayed cheekily by Woody Harrelson who provides some of the best laughs in the film, as one might expect. Also of note, I think, is the quirky, lovable and downright cute performance of Hayden Szeto as Erwin. Erwin sits next to Nadine in class stumbling and bumbling his way through awkward repartee in the hopes of some sort of hook-up. But nothing is typical here, and the course that said repartee takes leads us into uncharted teen territory. It might also be interesting to note that the name Erwin was the most common baby name in 1918, which makes this Erwin an old soul, to be sure.

Kelly Fremon Craig has written a real gem here, and his first directing effort will earn him much critical acclaim, to be sure. The thing he does masterfully is take us inside the character of Nadine by giving us so many moments alone with her; moments when we experience in her stillness, in her eyes, and in her facial discipline as an actress the absolute bankruptcy of her isolation. None of us would want to be seventeen again, or ever; at least not her seventeen.

I am grateful to the studio, and to the Marcus Corporation for giving some of us movie lovers an opportunity to pre-screen this film that will be released on November 18th. I suppose they hope we will say good things about it and get others to go see the film. Well, go see the film. You will laugh, and you will need a few tissues, but you will not regret having spent a few hours walking in Nadine's shoes. Perhaps there is a little Nadine in all of us after all.

The Edge of Seventeen is a movie I stumbled upon. I did not know what to watch next and saw this movie available to stream. Once I started watching I absolutely fell in love with this movie. It's a coming of age story that could not be more real about the life of a teenager. The movie is awkward, funny, sad, frustrating, and emotional, and that's exactly what being a teenager is. Hailee Steinfeld perfectly plays a character that I've seen has been labeled unlikable. I read other reviews and some just say that "she is unlikeable and thinks she's way hotter and funnier than she really is." And that's absolutely right, her character, Nadine spends most of the movie not knowing why she feels so frustrated. She just is. And me being a teenager myself I know that is absolutely accurate. Sometimes I just feel angry because I do, and sometimes I'm really anxious and awkward without wanting to. This is the first movie in which I have really seen myself reflected onscreen. The main character is a teenage girl, but this movie is so greatly written that it isn't only relatable to girls but to all teenagers in general like it happened to me being a guy. The whole arc the character goes through is not about her changing everything about herself, but about recognizing that everyone has problems and everyone feels all of those emotions she feels. The dialogue was perfectly written, it reflected everything about being this age. The performances were amazing, Hailee Steinfeld is a really talented actress. I was genuinely surprised about how great this movie was. It's such a relatable and heartwarming story that at times may feel a little irritable or all over the place, but that's just what being a teen is.