The Edge of Seventeen
Directed by: Kelly Fremon Craig
Written by: Kelly Fremon Craig
Starring: Hailee Steinfeld, Haley Lu Richardson, Blake Jenner, Kyra Sedgwick, Woody Harrelson, Hayden Szeto, Alexander Calvert, Eric Keenleyside
Comedy/Drama - 104 min Reviewed by Charlie Juhl on 15 Nov 2016
Written by: Kelly Fremon Craig
Starring: Hailee Steinfeld, Haley Lu Richardson, Blake Jenner, Kyra Sedgwick, Woody Harrelson, Hayden Szeto, Alexander Calvert, Eric Keenleyside
Comedy/Drama - 104 min Reviewed by Charlie Juhl on 15 Nov 2016
In another high school comedy/drama where the actors are clearly too old for their roles, The Edge of Seventeen successfully skates by this transgression by showcasing a real girl. Nadine is complicated. On one hand, she acts superior to those around her because they just don’t get it, but at the same time, Nadine is her own worst critic with unhealthy self-esteem issues. At one low point, she insults herself with the line, “I’ve got to spend the rest of my life with myself.” Ouch. Mega-Hollywood producer James L. Brooks, the man who executive produced 162 episodes of Mary Tyler Moore, 601 episodes and counting of The Simpsons, and won three Oscars for Terms of Endearment, plucks another new voice from the masses in Kelly Fremon Craig, the writer with an idea of a complex high school girl. Brooks put Craig through four years of re-writes, set her up as the director, and pulls off not only an entertaining adolescent journey, but the creation of a character just about all of us can identify with.
The Edge of Seventeen is strong because of its dialogue. Teenagers continuously lob the F-bomb at one another, they threaten to spill secrets, and know just the right insults that will sting the sharpest. On the other hand, to get to all of this juicy back-and-forth, the script is so obvious it is frustrating. Nadine (Hailee Steinfeld, Pitch Perfect 2) narrates the opening with a compare/contrast between her and her brother. He is successful at whatever he chooses to do and she is insecure, awkward, and has a tough time making friends. The only person who connects with Nadine is her understanding and beloved father; therefore, he dies. The suits behind The Edge of Seventeen praise the story and the unexpected twists it takes, but if a character is that nice and that important to the protagonist, especially as a child, he has got to go.
The Edge of Seventeen is strong because of its dialogue. Teenagers continuously lob the F-bomb at one another, they threaten to spill secrets, and know just the right insults that will sting the sharpest. On the other hand, to get to all of this juicy back-and-forth, the script is so obvious it is frustrating. Nadine (Hailee Steinfeld, Pitch Perfect 2) narrates the opening with a compare/contrast between her and her brother. He is successful at whatever he chooses to do and she is insecure, awkward, and has a tough time making friends. The only person who connects with Nadine is her understanding and beloved father; therefore, he dies. The suits behind The Edge of Seventeen praise the story and the unexpected twists it takes, but if a character is that nice and that important to the protagonist, especially as a child, he has got to go.
Nadine’s best and only friend is Krista (Haley Lu Richardson). Krista does not feel as far out on the outcast spectrum as Nadine and when Nadine busts Krista and her brother in bed, the second most obvious plot turn of the film, the fallout is catastrophic. Darian (Blake Jenner, Everybody Wants Some!!) is the family goody-two-shoes strutting around as the alpha male athlete, academic champion, and peer leader. Jenner is also way too mature for his alleged age, we’re talking Beverly Hills 90210 level of adult casting. Nadine sees through this fake veneer openly showing her scorn against the pretty boy. Nadine’s mom, Mona (Kyra Sedgwick), dotes on her golden boy and we can see why this irritates Nadine. Darian makes lettuce smoothies while Nadine sits outside 7-11 slurping on the real thing. Nadine’s separate worlds shatter when her best friend and confidant crosses invisible barriers into Darian’s gargantuan arms. We empathize with Nadine that something important has been stolen, and given Darian’s track record, this important object will most likely be used and thrown away.
Mom is no help. Mona struggles with match.com imposters and attempts to maintain at least a façade of discipline over the increasingly rebellious Nadine. I remember when Kyra Sedgwick was just beginning her adult life in 1992’s Singles, little did she know she would be saddled at mid-life with an obnoxious daughter she cannot begin to interact with. Nadine, to her credit, gives Krista and Darian a chance. At a house party, Krista latches on with the popular clique while Nadine endures the most obvious joke the script could make; a girl compares Nadine and her brother to Arnold Schwarzenegger and Danny DeVito in Twins. But here is where The Edge of Seventeen saves itself. Now that we have all the obvious gimmicks out of the way and Nadine is truly alone in the world, the film takes itself seriously and we watch Nadine make poor choices, struggle to adapt, and be a real person.
Nadine reminds me of Enid from 2001’s Ghost World. Nobody ‘got’ Enid either; she carried herself separate and above from those around her and also fell out with her best friend. Enid is a bit more to the extreme and random than Nadine. Enid would also never obsess over boys the way Nadine does. Nadine fixates on Nick (Alexander Calvert), a boy she has never talked to but feels as a kindred, misunderstood spirit because he just returned from juvie. Krista, now completely integrated in with her new crowd, and even sharing Darian’s bed at night, comes off as a mother figure to Nadine scolding her teenager to knock it off. Of course this drives Nadine further away, and what better way to punish maternal figures than to run straight into the arms of a delinquent.
There is also a feeling of The Perks of Being a Wallflower emanating from the screen. The kid feels out of place and there is a teacher who takes an interest. Here is where Kelly Fremon Craig knocks it out of the park. She turns the standard student/teacher mentor relationship on its head. Mr. Bruner (Woody Harrelson, Now You See Me 2) is the only person who stands up to Nadine. He stares at her with bored disinterest while she threatens to kill herself, his sarcasm smacks her, and we get the feeling he recognizes his younger self somewhere in there. Nadine tries so hard to get a reaction from Mr. Bruner and he appears so unfazed by it all, it drives Nadine out of her mind in annoyance. Scoring Woody Harrelson was a coup for The Edge of Seventeen because the character of Mr. Bruner does not require such a heavy hitter. Imagine Nick Offerman from Parks and Recreation and you get the idea.
Nadine is smart enough to realize that one day, high school will actually end. She’s just trying to make it through; making it through with at least one friend to level with would be nice too. A curious, and even unsettling, lesson learned from the film is that all it takes to feel happy is for a boy to usher you into his clique. Krista immediately morphs from fringe sidekick into a social somebody when Darian introduces her to the right three ladies. No spoilers, but something similar happens to Nadine when she lets her guard down. It’s not overt, but take notice of how very similar actions happen to both girls and how it was a boy who ‘saved’ them. I doubt Kelly Fremon Craig intentionally set it up that way, but it bookends The Edge of Seventeen with a raised eyebrow instead of a knowing smile seeing a version of your high school self suffer through high school once again.
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