Movie Review – Edge of Seventeen (1998)

Overall 3.75 / 5.0
Gay Content 4.5 / 5.0
Gay Positivity 3.0 / 5.0

“Edge of Seventeen” is one of the better coming-out-and-coming-of-age tales. It is less saccharine and more poignant than many, and it benefits from a thoughtful script and a fantastic cast. Eric (Chris Stafford) is a high school junior who gets a summer job at an eatery at a local amusement park. There he meets Rod (Andrew Gabrych), with whom Eric shares his first romantic and sexual experience. The rest of the film follows Eric through his confused, convoluted path to greater self-awareness as he navigates the treacherous waters of sex and romance, friendship, and familial relationships.

The camera’s eye never flinches from Eric’s emotional roller-coaster, and his painful naïveté is completely engrossing. Stafford’s performance is spot-on, especially his nonverbal acting. He expresses hopefulness and devastation, cluelessness and realization, ecstasy and pain with amazing clarity and potency.

On the other hand, several sequences felt forced, particularly when he comes out to his mother. Yes, it’s powerful and affecting, but that scene derails the film from character-driven to plot-driven, which proves disconcerting enough that I disengaged from the characters.

The other actors also shine. Lea DeLaria, in particular, steals every scene. Her portrayal of Angie (the Wise Lesbian) borders on over-the-top, but the sheer energy and enthusiasm she brings to the role eclipses the other actors.

Tina Holmes’ performance as Eric’s best friend and sometime girlfriend Maggie is much more subdued and yet just as moving. It’s heart-breaking to watch Eric’s and Maggie’s relationship evolve through the twists and turns. Eric get so wrapped up in his own pain and fear, so desperately craving acceptance and affection, that he doesn’t see how every word tortures poor Maggie.

On my first viewing, several years ago, I identified so much more with Eric that, although I felt bad for Maggie, the tragedy of her situation didn’t really penetrate. She is an innocent victim of Eric’s confused identity, and Eric himself a victim of society’s inability to love its members unconditionally. The movie offers a subtle indictment of a culture that represses a subpopulation it doesn’t understand and fears to accept. Eric and Maggie are both victims to the same victimizer: socially ingrained, accepted homophobia.

As for the gay negativity, an awful lot of the drama proceeds from coming-out woes and, as mentioned, society’s homophobia. Other drama comes from some of the less savory elements of the gay community. My question is not so much whether Eric has emotionally matured by the end of the movie, but whether he’s been co-opted by the culture that sometimes causes as many problems as it answers. He finds a second home at a local gay bar run by Angie, but will he end up like one of the regulars, drunk and alone at the bar when last call is announced, eternally hoping for Mr. Right or at least Mr. Right Now? Will he manage to find the maturity and intimacy that Rod and another random trick (Jeff Fryer) were incapable of?

Angie is a figure who, while firmly enmeshed in the gay culture (she owns a local gay bar and serves the underage Eric alcohol), also manages to exceed the limitations of that culture in order to find enough wisdom to counsel Eric. She is part of the culture, but not a slave to it, and perhaps that’s the difference.

When I score for gay positivity, I ask myself if I consider the characters to be a inspiration for me, if I would like to have their lives as my own. Is the portrayal hopeful or melancholy? A story like Edge of Seventeen is powerful and meaningful. It contributes significantly to the gay film canon by memorializing what it’s like to grow up gay in a certain era and culture. But to answer my own questions, you couldn’t pay me to step into these characters’ lives (although I’d love to have Angie’s house). The ending is ambiguous regarding its positivity, but given the context of the rest of the film, I would tend to say it’s on the melancholy side.

As a side-note, I don’t feel much nostalgia for the ’80s, which is a little before my time. Nevertheless, the soundtrack perfectly complemented the movie and helped to create a gestalt effect that evoked the era more strongly than the clothing or hairstyles.