The Edge of Seventeen Review
R: Sexual Content, Language and Some Drinking - All Involving Teens
STX Entertainment, Gracie Films, H. Brothers Pictures
1 Hr and 42 Minutes
Cast: Hailee Steinfeld, Woody Harrelson, Hayden Szeto, Kyra Sedgwick, Haley Lu Richardson, Blake Jenner
REVIEW: Coming of age comedies are personally my favorite type of films. So with The Edge of Seventeen, something just spoke out to me. Usually, films of this type do. Last year it was Dope where an overachieving student is swallowed by his ghetto neighborhood. With this, you have a lonely girl with nobody around her that understands her issues. Coming of age films speak to me because there’s always one if several characters to relate to and by God, this is the most surreal film experience I’ve had of this year.
Everyone knows that growing up is hard, and life is no easier for high school junior Nadine (Hailee Steinfeld), who is already at peak awkwardness when her all-star older brother Darian (Blake Jenner) starts dating her best friend Krista (Haley Lu Richardson). All at once, Nadine feels more alone than ever, until the unexpected friendship of a thoughtful boy (Hayden Szeto) gives her a glimmer of hope that things just might not be so terrible after all.
THE GOOD: There has been a lot of films released recently that feels as if they could be made in the 80s and still get away with its storytelling. In a very post-John Hughes era, it is still great to have these coming of age films to show us that life sucks especially being a teenager. We’ve all been there. If you’re a guy or girl we have different versions of this type of story yet it's always great to see one we can get behind with and The Edge of Seventeen is one of those films. With this film written and directed by Kelly Fremon Craig, this has a rebellious spirit that's very honest and endearing. It really blends in a ton of films from the 80s yet set in a modern age where it speaks about how disconnected we are with technology. If Sixteen Candles, Pretty In Pink, and an adult R-rated version of Diary of a Wimpy Kid had a baby, it would be this movie.
Hailee Steinfeld performance carries this entire film. Her character is written in a way that not only a lot of teenage girls can relate to but even boys can too. Her dialogue embodies a mixture of Molly Ringwald and Woody Allen. When she is trying to cope with being alone she has the emotional angelicness of Molly Ringwald that you can genuinely connect to, but when bantering with other people especially trying to socialize she has the rapid stammer of Woody Allen. It is an odd mixture, but Steinfeld truly makes it work. It may not be an Oscar worthy performance but it is truly a strong one that would hopefully get her a Golden Globe Nomination for Best Actress – Motion Picture Comedy or Musical.
Besides Steinfeld a lot of other characters take up different types of actors that you would see in a John Hughes film such as Hayden Szeto who plays Erwin Kim (who is a vital character in the film yet who isn’t seen in any of the trailers) is that friend girls love to put in the friend zone. He’s the Asian Anthony Michael Hall/Jon Cryer of the film that you want to see get with Nadine. He is that good guy girls just love to put in a box until they hit their low point so they hit em up. Nadine even mentions of how he’s like an adorable old man they just want to carry like a baby than an actual boyfriend material. The majority of the film she’s giving him blue balls and it pissed me off personally. This was the character I personally connected to until the script does something with his image that you don’t see coming (and would give all underdogs relating to this guy loss of all hope in themselves).
As much this is Hailee Steinfeld’s vehicle, Woody Harrelson manages to steal the show each time he’s on screen. He has this bond with Nadine that plays off as two smart asses having a smart ass off. He has a ton of one liners that punches you in the gut with hilarity. It's funny how every U.S History teacher has to have the most personality in films as they sorta do in life. I had a Junior History teacher that I saw in Woody Harrelson and it really struck a core to me. He is amazing and gives that type of performance that you see surprisingly see gets nominated for the Best Supporting Actor category. He’s that charming and funny and so lovable in every way.
THE BAD: As much as The Edge of Seventeen borrows from different John Hughes films it still maintains nearly the same narrative and cliches. It doesn’t help from the different inconsistent continuity of editing where heads can’t even turn without a cut putting It in another place. It's a bit sloppy the way it's edited honestly. On the other hand, the film does differentiate itself from the realm of those films for its terms in coarse language and use of the word “fuck” because in all honesty who doesn’t say fuck? But it still has the predictability level of every coming of age film that you know will turn out right in the end.
The film conveys a good message of how everybody’s life sucks and it is about Nadine’s journey into growing up. But then it hit me. This girl is in Junior year and goes throw the worst moments of her life. Usually, that's when the complication starts and senior year is when everything truly goes to shit. Ask anyone in their senior year how it is for them. This isn’t a complaint or anything but it just has me a bit curious to see how Nadine would be in her Senior year if her Junior year was as hard as this.
LAST STATEMENT: The Edge of Seventeen brings shining performances for everyone across the board especially for Hailee Steinfeld and a brilliant breakthrough debut for writer/director Kelly Fremon Craig in a film that's originally honest and relatable for everyone who has ever been at the sucky age of seventeen.
Rating: 4/5 | 83%
Super Scene: Enter Mr. Bruners House
