I watch a lot of movie new shows on youtube (shout out to Collider Movie Talk), so I usually hear stories and read articles about most movies coming to theaters. However, until I saw a trailer for The Edge of Seventeen I had no idea about the film. My first exposure to it was seeing the preview before Hacksaw Ridge and that’s pretty rare for me since I mostly watch every trailer for any movie when it drops online. So… from the looks of the trailer, I got very excited. The movie seemed funny and it looked like it could be a feel-good coming of age story with a unique twist. Going into the theatre, I had high expectations, especially with its overwhelmingly positive critical buzz.

     Coming out of it, I was a little disappointed. The movie isn’t bad, but for me it really didn’t do much. I didn’t feel an emotional attachment with any of the characters and the movie never grabbed me. Woody Harrelson’s snarky and blunt acting kept me enticed in certain scenes, but that’s about it. I will say, Hailee Steinfeld did an amazing job acting wise. The problem was, I didn’t sympathize with her character and I didn’t like her very much. That’s the way the character was written though, so that’s why I say her acting was still phenomenal. The only times I felt eager to spend more time with her character was when she hung out with the Asian guy she befriends. He is much more humble and grounded than her and in their interactions his charm rubs off on her a little bit.

     My brother put it well and I think what he said is what makes my favorite movies resonate with me so much. He said this movie doesn’t make you think about or question some aspect of your own life that you can relate to. It’s really true in this case. For example, I just watched Sing Street for the second time (still my top film of 2016) and even though it is at times corny and predictable, I feel like I can relate with the older brother who never followed his dreams but tries to live vicariously through his younger brother by helping him with his band. The best movies make you think! This doesn’t! I just felt like I was staring blankly at a screen for a couple of hours watching semi-entertaining events play out. Nothing much happens in the movie. It seems like a compilation of small segments over the course of a few weeks of a typical teenage girl’s life. My mom seemed to resonate more with the film. I’m not sure if that’s because she was just relieved not to have to see another really violent or serious movie or because she actually related with it. Maybe I’m just not the target audience, since I didn’t feel any connection with the characters’ experiences.

     It probably sounds like I’m bashing on the film, but I want to stress that this film is by no means bad. I was just disappointed and can’t understand the amazing hype the movie is getting. Like I said, it may be just one of those weird cases were I feel that I can’t relate but everyone else can. If you want to kill a few hours and like coming of age stories I think you’ll be satisfied. I’m giving The Edge of Seventeen a 6/10.