Checked out the new teen drama/comedy The Edge of Seventeen starring Hailee Steinfeld (from True Grit and Ender’s Game… and pop songs) and Woody Harrelson. This has been compared to a modern-day John Hughes move and that’s not too far off. It’s more serious and dramatic than most Hughes movies but it’s still plenty funny. It most resembles Sixteen Candles in that the lead character life is a mess and in that awkward teen stage but she’s a little more self-absorbed and angry. And there’s an asian guy but he turns out to be the good friend and then the love interest instead of the goofy stereotype that probably plays pretty terribly among teens these days.
Basically this is just a slice of life movie about a girl who’s best friend winds up sleeping with her (the lead character’s) brother, thus breaking up their friendship (really the only friend she has). Her only other friend is Woody Harrelson who plays her sarcastic teacher who she insists on dumping her life problems on during his lunch. Woody is the funniest part of this flick, easily. Though maybe he should be fired for talking to students like that.
Steinfeld is really good in this movie playing someone who often says unlikable things in a way that self-sabotages her own life. Really, except for a dad who died four years earlier, the only real problems she has is her own social awkwardness, anxiety, and anger. It might sound like a real low-stakes movie but it works because the script and the actress make it work.
This isn’t as funny as the very funny trailers are and it’s a surprisingly R rated teen movie. But that’s ok since the movie just works and it has heart.
Score: 84