“The Edge of Seventeen” is a movie that is on the edge of being mediocre and tries too hard to relate to teenagers.Hailee Steinfeld does an amazing job playing Nadine, who is an exaggeratedly awkward and egocentric teenager. Steinfeld is her own worst enemy. All of Steinfeld’s  problems are her own fault, despite her attempts to blame literally every other living thing in the world.

The movie starts with Steinfeld’s best friend, Krista (played by Haley Lu Richardson), hooking up with Steinfeld’s older brother, Darian (played by Blake Jenner). Steinfeld is rightfully upset at Richardson, but she takes it too far. Steinfeld’s character refuses to swallow her pride by being happy for her friend when Richardson and Jenner start to date. Steinfeld then wisely abandons her only friend.

The rest of the movie is focused on how Steinfeld’s life is reletable and sucks: She chased away her only friend, and she is hopelessly in love with a boy who has no idea she exists.

“The Edge of Seventeen”  has every teen movie comedy/drama cliche in the book:

• Her dad is dead.
• She has one friend.
• She is a “I’m not like other girls” starter pack.
• She goes after a guy that she has no chance with, while Prince Charming is waiting for her.

In commercials, the movie is sold as a comedy, but I beg to differ. All of the attempted jokes reminded me of a local business’ cringey radio commercial. “The Edge of Seventeen” does not fit into a distinct category; it tries to be a drama and comedy, but ends up as some pathetic crossover that is lacking comedy and drama.

The only reason anyone in the audience has to like Steinfeld is pity. Her character’s dad died in a car crash when she was 13, leaving her with her mother and brother, who do not understand her.

Overall, I was unimpressed with “The Edge of Seventeen” after hearing such good reviews of it. It is the type of movie that middle-aged audiences enjoy because it makes their own children seem less bratty and terrible. There are a few good themes in the movie about maturing and growing up near the end, but to get to them you have to sit through 90 minutes of a hormonal teenage girl and a inconsistent plot.