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The Edge of Seventeen (2016)

7.9/10 on IMDb
95% on Rotten Tomatoes

Chloe's thoughts: Signed, sealed, and recommended by Chloe; Low energy entertainment
Watch it if you: Want a refreshing and fun teen movie; Just want to have an easy and chill time with friends; Want to laugh at quirky teenagers

Being seventeen years old is hard enough as is. So when Nadine's older brother starts to date her best friend, what else can she do but have a teenage meltdown?

Time and time again we've seen the story about awkward teenagers trying to find love, friendship, and their own identity, all while struggling with their own personal issues. So this film isn't anything original and different, but it still feels quite unique.

I'm not sure how else to describe this movie except to say that it's a really quirky and fun coming-of-age story, similar to Juno but not as quirky.

It has some great humour throughout, and I think that's due to the very realistic and believable script-writing, and I think that's what makes it seem quite refreshing and different to other coming-of-age films.

Hailee Steinfeld is great in this as our hard-to-deal-with protagonist. Being a teenager herself during filming I guess it's not that surprising, since most movies cast actors older than their characters, but her acting felt so organic and natural. Everything from what she says to her little mannerisms to her adolescent tone of voice felt so realistic. And she plays a very unlikeable protagonist, but it's believable and not totally detestable, so you can't help but sort of feel for her.

I think generally the entire cast did a great job, actually.

Woody Harrelson plays Nadine's very sarcastic teacher who should definitely have been fired before he even got hired in the first place, and he did a great job. I love his sense of humour and he is the source of quite a lot of the movie's laughs. The bantering, platonic chemistry between him and Hailee Steinfeld was also really great.

Then there's Haley Lu Richardson who plays Nadine's best friend Krista, as well as Blake Jenner who plays Nadine's older brother Darian, both very good looking people whose characters also feel very natural and loveable.

Hayden Szeto plays Erwin, another awkward teenager in one of Nadine's classes, and he was hilarious, I laughed so much at some of his schticks. I was also very surprised to find out that he's actually 30 years old. Must be those young Asian genes...

Despite being full of laughs, it's also a really touching story about growing up, and I think it's quite relatable to everyone, even if you are not a White teenage girl in an American high school.

Also, not gonna lie, I cried. There was one scene towards the end that really got to me. Maybe because I found it all-too-relatable having an older brother with whom you have a strained relationship with because of your own personal issues, and then being able to try and look past that, but I seriously was weeping in that scene.

So yes, the film is predictable and it's not a very unique or new coming-of-age story, but it's done really well, with a great balance of humour and drama, so much so that it at least feels really original.

A few side notes:

I can't believe the guy who played Nick is NOT Dane DeHaan... they look so similar!