Manuel here. How do we feel about Hailee Steinfeld? I have never seen her Oscar nominated turn in True Grit so I'm obviously at a disadvantage in discussing her career but really enjoyed her in Pitch Perfect 2, The Homesman and Begin Again. I may give the Coens film a chance but if the upcoming The Edge of Seventeen is my first chance to see Steinfeld carry a movie, I think I'll be okay.
Kelly Fremon (who wrote the Rory Gilmore Alexis Bledel pic Post Grad) wrote and directed the teen flick and it may very well be this year's Perks of Being a Wallflower. We finally got a chance to see a poster and a trailer so check out unfiltered thoughts after the jump...
- I can't be the only one who went on to Google "Dude abide 8bit sweatshirt," yes? Not only does it give us nice character detail on Steinfeld's teenage girl (cool but misunderstood) but it functions as a cute True Grit inside joke.
- If you're going to go with a photo + boilerplate title card for your poster, you may as well give us a striking image and well... sweatshirt aside, that isn't quite the case here. The poster actually looks like the cover of a novel that got a reprinting because it's just been turned into a film. Funny since The Edge of Seventeen is an original property.
- This I learnt because at first I worried it was some sort of straight reboot of Edge of Seventeen, the gay rom com from the 90s. (It's not.)
- "You're only young once... is it over yet?" Fact: teenage angst is the trickiest, hardest feeling to pull off sincerely on film. This is partly because in real life it so often depends on posturing which can trip up even the best of performers on screen. Yet films love to wallow in it.
- Steinfeld and Bridges. Steinfeld and Ruffalo. Can Steinfeld and Harrelson capture that same type of crackling rapport?
- Despite his ace turn in Everybody Wants Some! Blake Jenner isn't quite a marquee name but you should know you'll be seeing his handsome face in this film.
- "Produced by James L. Brooks" is perhaps too small for everyone to notice but it reminds you of that one-two punch of Spanglish and How Do You Know which are inexcusable follow-ups to the affecting As Good as It Gets. What kind of prestige does his name still carry (for critics and audiences alike) in 2016?
Check out the Red Band trailer below where you'll see why you may want to keep your eyes out for this teen flick that hopes to plumb your John Hughes nostalgia and bring it to the 21st century. The film opens September 30, 2016 in the US.