Before you read this review, think long and hard about what it was like to be seventeen. If you’re not cringing, you’re not thinking hard enough.
Fortunately for you, you’re not the only person to have suffered through the awkward life experiences that come pre-packaged with the gift of being a teenager. On November 18, Kelly Fremon Craig released her newest film, The Edge of Seventeen.
This teen film is about Nadine Franklin, an awkward seventeen-year-old girl with the main objective of getting her crush to notice her. She seems stable in her awkward life until her best friend starts dating her annoyingly popular older brother. At the prospects of losing her best friend to her brother, Nadine’s world begins to crash as she does something awkward and risky she might soon regret.
This film does a fantastic job of reminding its audience what it’s like to be seventeen by providing an original and realistic spin on the typical teenage movie plot. It’s extremely relatable on so many levels. The Edge of Seventeen naturally touches on several plot points that often overlap with our own experiences from when we were teenagers.
Have you ever experienced having a favorite teacher? Of course, you have! There’s always one teacher that has a way with connecting with his or her students.
Or have you ever had a sibling rivalry? It’s only natural for siblings to bicker every now and then.
Maybe you’ve had a crush on the cool kid in school. If there’s a cool kid in school, you just naturally have a crush on them. It’s like Geico – it’s what you do.
Perhaps you’ve gotten into an argument or two with your best friend. All best friends go through rough patches every now and then.
The Edge of Seventeen explores all these scenarios that people experience at some point or another throughout their teenage years, making for a film that audiences of all ages can relate to.
The most compelling aspect about this film is that it does a phenomenal job of avoiding clichés that are common to the typical teen film. The Edge of Seventeen has several scenes that are different from what’s expected of the cliché teen film. [SPOILER ALERT: One of the most relatable and not cliché scenes was when Nadine and Erwin were on the Ferris wheel & Erwin tried to kiss Nadine before she shut him down. She reacted to this awkward kiss attempt with nervous laughter. If this were a cliché teen film, Erwin probably would have been successful in getting that kiss at the top of the Ferris wheel.] Major props to Kelly Fremon Craig for recognizing that life is not as cliché and romantic as the movies make it seem.
Also, the acting in the film is phenomenal. With acting from the never-disappointing Woody Harrelson, the movie is sure to make you laugh. If you loved Harrelson in The Hunger Games as a sarcastic mentor to his tributes, you will love his snarky character as Nadine’s teacher in The Edge of Seventeen. And, of course, the film introduces Hailee Steinfeld as the lead character of Nadine. Steinfeld does a fantastic job of filling the big shoes of the complex character and bringing Craig’s script to life through her acting.
The only downside to this film is only noticeable if you’ve been obsessively watching the trailers before you see the movie in theaters. [SPOILER ALERT: All of the scenes revealed in the trailers come right at the beginning of the movie, which made it seem as if the plot was rushed. However, if you’re like me and find yourself being misled by the plethora of trailers, trudge through the beginning and the parts that you’ve seen and enjoy the rest of the film that does not fail to deliver amazing teenage dramedy.]
Overall, this film sets the bar for all the teen movies to come, as it meets the ranks of its competitive ancestors like Mean Girls and Clueless.
Author’s Rating: 9/10