The Edge of Seventeen (2016)

[lucyd1999 0]

There are multiple forums on here saying this is a GOOD movie. Maybe I'm a harsh critic. Just kidding, maybe they're all INSANE.

This was one of the worst movies of all time, comparable only to Me Before You, another AWFUL 2016 movie.

The Edge of Seventeen was marketed as being "the new hot teen movie." In the ads, that meant it would go right up there with movies like the Fast Times, the Breakfast Club, John Hughes bullshit,, Dazed and Confused, Clueless, Juno, etc.

LET ME TELL YOU IT MOST CERTAINLY DOES NOT

- The plot is strange.

- Why is the brother named Darien?

- Woody Harrelson's character (WHY IS WOODY HARRELSON PLAYING THIS ROLE) doesn't make sense. This role would make more sense not as a living breathing entity, but as though Hailee Steinfeld's character had an imaginary friend.

- Call me jaded, but I thought the whole movie that there was gonna be some sort of weird, teacher-student relationship. I don't know if that would've improved the movie. Probably not. The sexual tension shouldn't have been there. It's not normal sexual tension, though.

- The plot with the best friend and brother-- what the fuck. Never mind that it sucks for Hailee Steinfeld, yeah whatever, that's obvious. All the scenes with them alone. THERE IS NO EXPLANATION. WHAT IS THE SOCCER FUNCTION THEY'RE AT WHEN KYRA SEDGWICK CALLS THE BROTHER ON THE PHONE? nothing is mentioned. also they're juniors so why is he talking about "going to school where he wants?"

- nothing in the relationship is fleshed out

- Hailee Steinfeld-- when she starts going off at someone (she goes off at everyone-- her mom, her friend, her brother), you start to want to feel bad for her, because she actually is in a bad situation. For once, a teen movie without that much exaggeration or hyperbole. Then, she goes way too far and you just wanna yell at the screen "SHUT THE FUCK UP, YOU DESERVE TO LOSE KRISTA."

- WHY IS WOODY HARRELSON'S WIFE PLAYED BY ANDIE FROM DAWSON'S CREEK?????

- EDWIN SEEMS LIKE HE SHOULD BE AN IMAGINARY FRIEND, TOO

- no one in this movie knows how to communicate AT ALL

i think i fell asleep like 15 minutes before the end, but yeah, WORST MOVIE EVER

also everyone dresses SO. WEIRD. not even ironically weird. STRAIGHT UP WEIRD.

[taylor anne photo 11311]

Completely disagree.

[RyanSz 3140]

[kateacola 2440]

I didnt love this movie..but I definitely don't think it's bad or even close to being "bad" enough to be on the podcast.

[Cakebug Tranch 6873]

Pretty sure a 95% fresh movie on RT won't make the cut for the podcast.

[Cameron H. 23786]

- Why is the brother named Darien?

 

I haven't seen the movie, so I can't really say one way or another if it should be done or not, but I'm not sure how much mileage they're going to get out of "her brother's name is Darian." Am I missing something? Is it a "thing" in the movie? Otherwise, it's a perfectly reasonable name. If that's honestly one of the craziest things about the movie (literally your second point) I don't think it's going to make the cut.

[IMAHUGEHDTGMFAN 1837]

LET ME TELL YOU IT MOST CERTAINLY DOES NOT

- The plot is strange.

- Woody Harrelson's character (WHY IS WOODY HARRELSON PLAYING THIS ROLE) doesn't make sense. This role would make more sense not as a living breathing entity, but as though Hailee Steinfeld's character had an imaginary friend.

- The plot with the best friend and brother-- what the fuck. Never mind that it sucks for Hailee Steinfeld, yeah whatever, that's obvious. All the scenes with them alone. THERE IS NO EXPLANATION. WHAT IS THE SOCCER FUNCTION THEY'RE AT WHEN KYRA SEDGWICK CALLS THE BROTHER ON THE PHONE? nothing is mentioned. also they're juniors so why is he talking about "going to school where he wants?"

- Hailee Steinfeld-- when she starts going off at someone (she goes off at everyone-- her mom, her friend, her brother), you start to want to feel bad for her, because she actually is in a bad situation. For once, a teen movie without that much exaggeration or hyperbole. Then, she goes way too far and you just wanna yell at the screen "SHUT THE FUCK UP, YOU DESERVE TO LOSE KRISTA."

- no one in this movie knows how to communicate AT ALL

 

 

I don't want this post to come across as condescending in any way, nor spoil the movie, so I'll try keep it simple...

 

Everything that you did not like / get in the movie is explained in the title... She is a rebellious teenager dealing with situations that seem earth-shattering to her and acts out of character because of it... But we the audience see more of the bigger picture and can laugh at some of her problems and situations in this dramedy.

 

The movie poses the question ¿Will her childish-like behaviour continue or will she deal with her problems, learn from her mistakes and grow up?

 

In 3 words...

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xECUrlnXCqk

 

P.S.: The older brother is a Senior and he meant any college he would potentially want to go to, but he needs to be near his family to keep an eye on them (Her mother and sister especially) so he feels like its his responsibility to study nearby rather than where he really wants to go.

[RyanSz 3140]

Pretty sure a 95% fresh movie on RT won't make the cut for the podcast.

Now to be fair, the show has covered movies that were in the 80s and 90s on RT (Sharknado, Face/Off), so it's not out of the shows range to go for a crazy but well liked film. Granted this movie is not this show's kinda crazy.

[lucyd1999 0]

whoever said "i don't mean to come off as condescending"

well you sound super condescending, especially with your little simpsons clip which i'm not gonna watch

in regards to what you said, that isn't really what i feel it is. in my opinion, it isn't that her problems are minuscule and don't matter. no one really cares about her, her father dies in a tragic way, and her only friend literally abandons her for her brother. it's easy to feel sympathy for this kind of character. however, whenever one is beginning to feel even an inkling of sympathy for her, she ruins it. it's not as if her problems are childish and don't matter in this scenario (and don't we all love to act patronizing and condescending to kids going through shit in their formative years, saying their problems are worthless), it's that the way she goes about complaining about them alienates the audience, and makes you want to see her fail, or at least say "i told you so" when someone responds back to her.

as for my list of things, its just a fucking list, its not in order of importance jeez

also, she just isn't a rebellious teenager. that isn't a trope this movie deals with at all. if anything, i think she wishes she were more rebellious because it would give her a sort of realm and place in her world to fit into. she is lost and doesn't really have anyone. she makes attempts to be rebellious maybe and do things out of her comfort zone, but can't follow through with those things because that wouldn't be who she is.

[Cameron H. 23786]

as for my list of things, its just a fucking list, its not in order of importance jeez

 

That was me, and I apologize if I aggravated or annoyed you. Whether the list was in order of insanity or not, it was apparently the second thing your mind went to when making the list. And that is absolutely fine, even if I still don't get why it's a big deal. But even beyond that, there doesn't seem to be anything on your list they can really sink your teeth into. There's no Van Dammes trying to pass as an American Colonel, there's no switching of faces, nor monkeys killing and peeing on people. There's not even a best friend that is suddenly revealed to be a ghost at the end.

 

Again, I haven't seen this movie, so I'm willing to believe you, but nothing you've said so far has convinced me. Give us specific examples. If you think a name is weird or a casting choice is weird, you have to tell us why it's weird. Just saying, "so and so from Dawson's Creek was cast in this" or "why is Woody Harrelson in this" doesn't really mean anything to me. Even, "the plot is strange" doesn't tell me anything. How exactly is it strange? Because they've done movies where floating heads have thrown up rifles before...

 

And I'm not saying that every movie they do has to be crazy bananas. But when you suggest a movie that seems to be critically well-regarded, and based on the responses to this suggestion and the RT score, also seems to be popular with people in general, I think you're going to need to back up your position with some much stronger arguments.

 

Ultimately, it just sounds like you don't like the movie, which is totally fine, but that doesn't mean it's a good fit for the show.

[IMAHUGEHDTGMFAN 1837]

whoever said "i don't mean to come off as condescending"

well you sound super condescending, especially with your little simpsons clip which i'm not gonna watch

in regards to what you said, that isn't really what i feel it is.

 

as for my list of things, its just a fucking list, its not in order of importance jeez

also, she just isn't a rebellious teenager. that isn't a trope this movie deals with at all.

 

First of all... I'm sorry if my post came across as/was condescending in any way shape or form... That's exactly why I wrote that "disclaimer". Also, maybe I omitted/changed some things and was generally vague about "The Edge Of Seventeen" in some parts of my post because I didn't want to spoil it for the people that have not watched it yet.

 

With all of that out of the way... I have to say that for me the movie was ok, but not as great or funny as the trailers made it seem, it was fine for what it was (a Dramedy) I didn't love it but I didn't hated 100% either, and for a long time during my viewing experience I was baffled and as confused as you were with Hailee Steinfeld character and her choices, then at some point later in the film It all seem to click... I perceived it as uninformed acts of rebellion.

 

For instance in the scene after she and her friend have some drinks and she passes out at her house, her friend and her brother clean up the mess and have their meet cute moment. She wakes up the next morning and when she sees them together she can't think logically because she is unaware how things really went down and hates her brother and thinks that he is doing this to mess with her and her friend and when the friend reveals to her she really has feelings for him she goes off on her as well.

 

For now, those are my two cents and I truly hope this message finds you well

[joel_rosenbaum 1269]

well you sound super condescending, especially with your little simpsons clip which i'm not gonna watch

in regards to what you said, that isn't really what i feel it is.

There's a distinction between not liking something and that something being bad.

 

Taste is subjective, but there are some fundamental ideas that this forum/podcast/society have agreed upon with regards to what makes a movie good or bad. We (obviously) focus on the bad around these parts, and you could make a list of repeating themes, including logical inconsistencies/continuity errors, nonsensical dialogue, and overused tropes. There are subtler things like "bad acting" that might just fall under the Potter Stewart definition. But let's just say that no one is going to confuse Birdemic with the Hitchcock original.

 

I guess the point of this is to say that these are the things people look for in a bad movie suggestion. There's nothing wrong with making a controversial or unpopular suggestion (after all, I put up Lost Boys for consideration) but you should have some idea as to why it might work for discussion in the podcast.

[kateacola 2440]

I put up Lost Boys for consideration

 

Lol..But I agree with your points (and others who made similar points) that I am not sure that it has the "bad" movie qualities that are showcased on the podcast.

 

And this is being said by someone who didn't love this movie either.

The main character kind of killed the movie for me too, but otherwise nothing too "bad" or any crazy/strange plot points to make it HDTGM-worthy

[ElieB 238]

I thought it was kinda-alright but overrated. She was pretty terrible at being human, straight up. And she was terrible before her dad died, like, as a child... Definitely not getting an episode but as for whether or not it's a bad teen movie? I will defer judgment to the 18 year old lady OP and not presume that my 30 year old ass knows better.

 

(p.s. I really like imagining woody harrelson as an imaginary friend.)

[lucyd1999 0]

trailers totally oversold it, thats a good point

[taylor anne photo 11311]

ElieB Idk how you know the age of the OP but age shouldn't matter in this case. Personally I loved this movie because it reminded me a lot of my own troubles at that age and how I treated those around me while I was dealing with those troubles.

 

Spoilers under the cut for those who haven't seen it but I need to dig deeper into this.

 

 

Her issues are not minuscule or trivial per se, but a lot of things that she puts weight on are absolutely bonkers. Her friend did not abandon her for her brother, but rather the two of them became three of them and Hailee's character couldn't deal with it. Yes her father died in a tragic way that she had to witness but her brother also lost /his/ father in a tragic way at a young age. She's not the only one dealing with these issues and that's a huge point to this movie. And then she uses this tragedy for her own personal gain 5 years after it happened like everyone around her is supposed to drop everything to make sure she's okay. That's selfish and in no way shows that people don't care about her.

 

She thinks that just because her brother is a good looking jock with popularity that his life is a million times better. But then we see how he's dragged away from an outing with his friends and girlfriend just to clean up a mess he isn't involved in. Why does it matter what outing he is at? The point is that he can't have one night away from his family without his phone blowing up that he has to go get his sister because his mom can't deal with her. And idk about you but I started applying to colleges junior year. That's pretty typical.

 

She's not the hero of this story, and that's the point. She's learning about what she wants and who she is just like the rest of us were at that time. Believe me, when I look back at shit I did and shit I thought was going to ruin my life at 17 I get so embarrassed, and this movie echoed a lot of that pretty perfectly.

 

And if you really fell asleep with 15 minutes left in the movie then you missed her realization that she was not the hero the entire time and the apologies she gives to everyone around her.

 

 

I understand that some people may come off as condescending in these forums (I've experienced this first hand) but it's kind of hard to not take the initial post as condescending when it's starts off as "maybe they're all INSANE." Opinions are opinions dude. If you didn't like it, cool.

[ElieB 238]

Hmm I could have sworn when i first read this the OP's name was Lucy*something*98. That's a weirdly specific number if it isn't referencing a year. That and her style of writing, I gathered she was 18. Did I imagine that or did she change her screen name? (No offense meant Lucy, pls keep writing!)

 

I enjoyed this movie but I do think it's both overrated and was fairly misleading with its title and promotion. If you're going to lean so heavily on that specific age/experience, I do think it matters whether people in that age group buy into it.

 

And though I could relate to her stubbornness & outsider experience in a lot of ways, I still think she was a total asshole who seemed to be wholly incapable of finding nurturing relationships with anyone up to the age of 18(!), even in the era of the internet when you can absolutely find people with shared experience, interests and passions no matter what your deal is. Let alone just finding people in her immediate surroundings who shared her pessimism... After all she was a fairly bright and clever, though neurotic, kid who could have easily charmed other outsiders at her school. But my opinion is a little too far removed from the current state of the dazed and confused so yeah, i would defer to younger folk to judge whether this movie really nailed it or not. Personally I didn't buy it, no matter how cute steinfeld and harrelson were playing off each other.

[taylor anne photo 11311]

My point is that, for women especially when it comes to this specific movie, age shouldn't matter because we are all 17 at one point. I'm telling you specifically that for me this movie nailed it because I saw a lot of my own neurotic behavior displayed back to me. Being an outsider is one thing, but then purposefully making yourself an outsider because you're being a selfish asshole is totally a horse of a different color. Yes that was a decade ago for me, but I still remember it very clearly, so I don't need to ask my 18 year old sister if she thought it was a good representation or not.

[ElieB 238]

Being an outsider is one thing, but then purposefully making yourself an outsider because you're being a selfish asshole is totally a horse of a different color.

 

It's also barely correlated to a person's age. I think we've all met grown-ass people who behave this way. No? My objection isn't about whether or not her story is a valid subject for a film, it's that it really wasn't the "teen comedy" that it was marketed as. For 99% of people this probably reflected very little of their teen years. I mean just look at this poster.

 

[taylor anne photo 11311]

Kay but that's not what you said sooooo

 

Definitely not getting an episode but as for whether or not it's a bad teen movie? I will defer judgment to the 18 year old lady OP and not presume that my 30 year old ass knows better.

 

I'm still pointing out that it doesn't take a teenager to determine whether this is a good teen movie.

 

Plus...

 

For 99% of people this probably reflected very little of their teen years.

.............you could literally say that about any teen movie. "Dope" certainly didn't reflect my teen years but that doesn't negate the fact that it's a teen movie.

[StevenBailey 2]

Dude this was a really good indie movie. If u think this was bad, I'd like to hear what you consider to be a good movie. Let me guess you're one of those weirdos who didn't like "Garden State" either. Lol. This movie has zero chance of being on the podcast. They also don't solely do bad movies. Sure, most movies on the podcast are bad, but always fun, bad. This was just a straight up normal semi feel good movie. It had a few depressing moments and a few laughs as well. Pretty much an all around good movie. Woody harrelson played the sarcastic, but not in a super obvious way, character that he plays in basically every movie his ever done. Anyway. Good movie.

[NathanGordon 1096]

^^^Garden State sucks though

[bella_008 188]

The actual worst thing about this movie is that one of the biggest characters in the movie Erwin (also the first Asian American love interest in a teen film) wasn't feautured on a single poster or in a frame of the trailer.

[joel_rosenbaum 1269]

^^^Garden State sucks though

Absolutely true.

 

Good soundtrack, though.

[taylor anne photo 11311]

Dude this was a really good indie movie. If u think this was bad, I'd like to hear what you consider to be a good movie. Let me guess you're one of those weirdos who didn't like "Garden State" either. Lol. This movie has zero chance of being on the podcast. They also don't solely do bad movies. Sure, most movies on the podcast are bad, but always fun, bad. This was just a straight up normal semi feel good movie. It had a few depressing moments and a few laughs as well. Pretty much an all around good movie. Woody harrelson played the sarcastic, but not in a super obvious way, character that he plays in basically every movie his ever done. Anyway. Good movie.

I stand in solidarity with you that Garden State is a good movie lol