With 'The Edge Of Seventeen', I only really knew about this late on. It was never on my radar until I was hearing some of the early reviews of it. Then I saw the trailer, and I was completely hooked.
It seems the reviews were right and this could be the sleeper of 2016. The brilliant opening scene gets into the tone straight away. From there after, it keeps that level of comedy and maturity.
There were so many relatable moments that made me go back to when I was that age. Everything from the brilliantly executed social awkwardness of a lot of the situations, to the type of people you met felt so believable.
I think what gives this film the praise that it deserves, is the writing. It is really funny, it is like that for the entire movie, and not just in certain moments. Also the type of comedy it goes for was much more mature then I thought it was going to be. I liked the risk they took on that. Rather than watering it down and playing safe, it goes for it. Props to the entire team, as it would have just been another middle-of-the-road comedy that would have easily forgotten.
All the performances were on top form. Hailee Steinfeld was great in this. Her comedic timing was so strong and consistent. I was really happy to see her do so well as I struggled to remember her in any recent films. Her debut in True Grit was fantastic, she was solid in Ender's Game and good in Begin Again. Other than that, not much else comes to mind. So it is great to see her do well again and I hope she continues to thrive her talent.
With the director being female, it was refreshing to see the male characters be given depth and be very likable. Usually, they are seen to be monsters. But in this film, everyone is on equal terms. A very positive thing in this day an age, where everyone has suddenly become so sensitive.
The memorable performances from the guys are the always great Woody Harrelson and Hayden Szeto. It was also great to see Blake Jenner do another role as I enjoyed him in the really good 'Everybody Wants Some!!' from earlier this year.
No negatives to comment on as such. The only thing that I wanted to mention, was that of the main character. While performed brilliantly and giving the audience a lot of laughter, you can see her to be quite horrible at times in certain situations in the film. But as the character is at that age where their hormones are off the charts, I am happy to not fully criticize those moments in the film. It is a nit-picky criticism. But it is enough to slightly miss out on the slightly stronger films that I've seen this year.
With that negative being such a small one, it is safe to say that I really enjoyed this one. When a coming-of-age film works, it manages to blend comedy and drama really well and it usually ranks high up in many peoples lists.
One recent one that I can remember is 'The Way Way Back', which I loved and totally regret not seeing it on the big screen.
This is a surprisingly mature movie that will relate more with adults then its seemingly target market. That is a real plus in my eyes, and we now have a much stronger film that I think will get recommended by many for the next few years. Whether you are male or female, it doesn't matter. As long as you went through high school, you will relate to this.
Even when the ending in any of these types of films feels cliched and predictable. The strength of the writing, directing and character development made me fine with that, as it did all the hard work to get us to that moment.
Definitely check this one out. It deserves a big box office and it is a shame that it has not had that much of a wide release.
Rating: 8/10
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