A new high school comedy classic is born with the arrival of The Edge of Seventeen on Blu-Ray and DVD. Hailee Steinfield stars in a star-making turn (it earned her a Golden Globe nomination for Best Actress) as Nadine, a teenager trying to make her way through the emotional minefield that is grades nine through twelve.
She has her best friend Krista (Haley Lu Richardson) to keep her grounded, or at least she tries. And then there’s her super popular and amazingly awesome brother Darian (Blake Jenner), who challenges her while simultaneously supporting her in ways that she isn’t even aware of.
Keeping them all together is Kyra Sedgwick’s Mona, the latest in a long line of supremely stunning performances by the gifted actress. Mona is a widow, who lost her husband relatively recently and has done a solid job of moving the family forward, despite all the challenges that seem to come at them as often as speed bumps at a mall parking lot.
No spoilers here, but the ultimate challenge to all those involved arrives. It has the potential to tear everyone apart. Whether it does or not lies squarely on the shoulders of Nadine. Lucky for her she has a teacher, Mr. Bruner (Woody Harrelson in his best work in years, and yes, that is saying something), who doesn’t take any of her overly dramatic meltdowns too seriously and also manages to subtly get in some sage words of wisdom for his mentee.
All involved make The Edge of Seventeen a must-see film and honestly, this is about as much of a must-own Blu-Ray as there could be. The reason is simple — the film is absolutely perfect and deserves to be seen repeatedly. It is the kind of story and comedy, frankly, which will reveal different things upon subsequent viewings. It is so wickedly smart; it is a tale to laugh at, treasure and show to any of the teenagers you have in your life because it delivers lessons in the most astute of ways that it never feels like an emotional sledgehammer. What else is fascinating about this film is you don’t even have to know any teenagers to impart its wisdom, humor and heart. Anyone who has lived through those tumultuous years can identify with each nuance that is brilliantly presented by writer-director Kelly Fremon Craig.
Craig is, without a doubt, the reason why this is an instant classic. Her directorial debut is an announcement of the highest order and shows that producer James L. Brooks’ stroke of genius was giving her the chance to helm her screenplay. She has always been a terrifically toned writer (Post Grad), but allowing her to helm The Edge of Seventeen brings a layer of authenticity to this project that could have only been achieved by the writer also serving as the director.
She is a talent and there is no question that we will be hearing much from her as the years go by. For us at The Movie Mensch, if her name is attached to anything in the future, we will be first in line to witness her next chapter of cinematic brilliance.
What’s fascinating about the Blu-Ray release of The Edge of Seventeen is that we have anointed it a must-own home video, yet when it comes to bonus features it could not be scarcer. There are a few deleted scenes and a gag reel.
The five-and-a-half-minute gag reel is a nice touch as it shows the chemistry between this cast and how they each got each other’s backs… especially during those moments where one or more involved in a scene can’t keep a straight face. We particularly loved a longer exchange of giggles between Harrelson and Steinfeld.
See, The Edge of Seventeen is so good that it doesn’t need a bevy of bonus features to make it a must-purchase home video release. In fact, you will want to own it simply because the film itself is one you will want to see through the years, over and over again.
Film Grade: A
Bonus Features: N/A