The insecurities and tumultuous desires of adolescence are not often portrayed in cinema the most faithfully, let alone when it comes to coming of ages narratives focusing on young gay men. When looking back at the 1998 indie LGBTQ romantic dramedy Edge of Seventeen, co-written and co-produced by Todd Stephens and directed by David Moreton, it's often quite fascinating to view the rising maturity of an urban town teenager coping with their inner persona. Seeing as how the film was a big hit at both the San Francisco International Lesbian & Gay Film Festival and Sundance, it's not hard to see why it still holds up.
Set in Sandusky, Ohio in 1984, the plot focuses on a seventeen year old man named Eric Hunter, who ends up falling for another young man named Rod over the summer. As a result, he ends up having to cope with his sexuality and being with his friends and family. Two things that the movie explores quite well is how difficult it is for someone growing up in a conservative minded hometown and the pressure of finding love. Even though Eric does in Rod and his best friend Maggie, he ends up falling victim to disdain, condescension and societal introspection. It gets to the point where he ends up costing the trust of not only Maggie, but even his own family who aren't going through the best of times already. It's been said that the film was loosely inspired by co-writer Todd Stephens' upbringing in Sandusky, and even though he grew up in a different decade than Eric, one can feel his personal touches all throughout the feature's realistic bittersweetness. Regardless of the decade, the themes of finding oneself in a close minded world and not knowing who to trust are just as timeless now as they were in Eric and Stephen's times.
Even regarding the year of 1984, the retro contemporary music culture of then ends up playing a huge factor throughout the story. In addition to Eric's love of 80s synthesized compressions and the dance club vibes of certain scenes, it's very common to tell these types of coming of age narratives at a memorable time for people who were around the Boy George and Annie Lennox era. However, all of this cool looking pop fashion is merely a facade to poor Eric who even ends up realizing homophobia within his own peers, thus further emboriding him to question who he can trust. In addition to Chris Stafford capturing Eric's deep sincerity and debilitating narcism, the transition of Eric from a dorky looking high school nerd into a full on period fashionista wannabe is as seamless as it is heartbreaking, both for him and the people he knows personally. The fear of being different is so rampant throughout Eric's mindset that it nearly crushes his fragile ego, but even through all of these hardships, the sentimentality of those who do love him are what keep him going the most.
For a small movie with no big names, Edge of Seventeen thoroughly captures a small slice of life in mid 80s middle class American life. While it may be a bit campy in some regard, its realistic portrayal of young homosexual development has allowed it to stand the test of time pretty neatly. Now that the film is available on Netflix for all to see, there's no reason not to give it a go in the wonderful month of Pride. In a day and age where coming of age dramedies focusing on young queer people have become a lot more noted throughout mainstream cinema, it's always fun to look at smaller indie flicks to get a real personal taste.
