No teen movie could ever excel more than any of John Hughes' works. The struggles of high school modernize and change with each generation following their own trends and values. Filmmaker Kelly Fremon Craig wrote and directed the well-received comedy, "The Edge of Seventeen," which was released on November 18, 2016. I felt curious about the film being too cliche with the theme "coming of age", but the main character played the role so well with the title describing her own perspective of growing up.
The film started with Nadine (played by Hailee Steinfeld) stating two common dilemmas most teenagers go through: Suicidal thoughts and self-image. Nadine does rely on her equally-sarcastic history teacher (played by Woody Harrelson) which responded in a funny way that teachers have just as much as risk to kill themselves. But, she was later told by him to take a break from class when needed to because "she's his favorite student." The self-image became more of an issue from a flashback of Nadine at the age of 13 getting a curled haircut that was too short. The age of 13 would be a significant time for most of us transitioning from elementary to middle school and gaining more independence. "The Edge of Seventeen" might be a play on words for the title referring to an adolescent going off the edge in a suicide attempt or just going off the edge in anger and no patience.
The more widely-known actors are usually the deal-breakers as supporting roles to newcomer actors. Woody Harrelson enlightened the film as a role model in character and possibly in real life as an actor. It has been the least dramatic and more comical role for him while creating good chemistry with maturing newcomer Hailee Steinfeld. Harrelson's experience from "Cheers," "Kingpin," and "Zombieland" might be a lot for Steinfeld to learn from after being little known for her role in the remake of "True Grit." Compared to "Juno" and "Sixteen Candles," taking the leading role of a smart teen seems to the actress' ultimate career-booster.
The film is rated R for the language, sexual content and teen drinking. It seems necessary to be intended for teenagers to watch this with their parents. They might strike important conversations on the film's themes like sibling rivalry, the true consequences of underage drinking, loss of family member at a young age, loneliness, texting/social media and lack of communication with parents. They're all the great "pinpoints" that the late John Hughes would love to capture in this current generation.
