The Edge of Seventeen

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.

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.

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.

I've never been a 17 year old girl. Or an ANY year old girl. But I've been the child of a single parent, and the single parent of a child so I know how that can be. This movie captured that part of my life pretty well, as I daresay it captured similar parts of MANY people's lives. Everything else, aside from the lead being a girl, was pretty close on (in spirit at least) for what my school life was like too. "The loner who nobody really liked", "the kid who thought they were the only one with these problems", all that good stuff.

Hailee Steinfeld played all of that REALLY well, as did Haley Lu Richardson, Blake Jenner, Hayden Szeto, Kyra Sedgwick, and Woody Harrelson. They were ALL great. Everything about this movie was great. And I definitely needed the cry at the end...

Again, I've never been a girl of any age, but I can definitely empathise with the essence of Nadine's journey, and her mother's journey...