Susan Granger’s review of “The Edge of Seventeen” (STX Entertainment)
Writer/director Kelly Fremon Craig makes an impressive feature debut with this girl-centered, coming-of-age comedy, evoking nostalgic recollections of “Clueless” “Heathers,” “”Juno,” “Fast Times at Ridgemont High,” “10 Things I Hate About You” and “The Perks of Being a Wallflower.”
When 17 year-old Nadine (Hailee Steinfeld) discovers that her best – and only friend – Krista (Haley Lu Richardson) has hooked up with her handsome, popular older brother Darian (Blake Jenner), she feels betrayed and hopelessly alone – sure that her life has fallen apart.
A flashback reveals that, while Nadine has always had problems with Darian and her harried, self-involved mother, Mona (Kyra Sedgwick), after her father (Eric Keenleyside) died, things went from bad to worse.
“Everyone in the world is as miserable and empty as I am,” widowed Mona asserts. “They’re just better at pretending.”
Openly hostile, frumpy and socially awkward Nadine idolizes ‘bad boy’ Nick (Alexander Calvert), who works at the local Petland, and is – in turn – shyly, amusingly adored by nerdy Edwin (Hayden Szeto). But this is film is about her, not them.
An outcast and misfit among her classmates, Nadine’s only confidante is her snarky History teacher, Mr. Bruner (Woody Harrelson), whose lunch break she continually interrupts with brash, dramatic outbursts`.
What makes it work is that Kelly Fremon Craig has her finger on the pulse of teenage angst, perceptively guiding Hailee Steinfeld’s (“True Grit”) compelling, multi-layered performance with a firm hand. And it’s not surprising that James L. Brooks (“As Good As It Gets”) served as her lead producer.
On the Granger Movie Gauge of 1 to 10, “The Edge of Seventeen” is a savvy, wryly sardonic 7 – depicting the fragility of adolescent angst without being self-conscious.
