IMDb RATING
6.8/10
7.3K
YOUR RATING
A teenager copes with his sexuality on the last day of school in 1984. It shows him coping with being gay and being with friends.A teenager copes with his sexuality on the last day of school in 1984. It shows him coping with being gay and being with friends.A teenager copes with his sexuality on the last day of school in 1984. It shows him coping with being gay and being with friends.
- Awards
- 5 wins & 2 nominations total
Jason Lockhart
- Steve
- (as Jason Scheingross)
Kevin Joseph Kelly
- Chuckie
- (as Kevin J. Kelly)
Craig H. Shepherd
- Irate Customer
- (as Craig Shepherd)
- Director
- Writer
- All cast & crew
- Production, box office & more at IMDbPro
Featured reviews
One of the better "coming of age" films about gay youth. Especially effective in this movie is Tina Holmes, who plays Maggie, Eric's best friend/girlfriend. She brings a true sense of innocence to the film, and when she discovers the truth about Eric, her pain is real. This is a young woman to watch! The film doesn't flinch in its look at the wonder, confusion, and deception associated with the coming out process, and despite some awkward direction, Edge of Seventeen succeeds at opening the eyes of its audience, both gay and straight.
7=G=
"Edge.." takes on a huge challenge as it takes the audience on an compromised guided tour of homosexuality in bloom while maintaining its entertainment value. The film features some excellent acting by some very unfamiliar faces and strikes an appropriate balance between gay sex and gay love. Kudos.
This is definitely one of the best gay "coming-of-age" films that I've ever seen. Screenwriter Todd Stephens' choice of era (80's) to showcase his story can not be any more appropriate, drawing a parallel between the struggle of a young gay man in coming to terms with his sexuality and a nation in realizing "all that glitters is not gold." Both required the courage to honestly looked at the truth, and this is ultimately what "Edge of Seventeen" managed to accomplish. Quite often in the world of celluloid, being gay is reduced to being comical, sacchrined, or "romantically" bleak. Director David Moreton knew better. He chose to give us a multi-faceted depiction of gay experience instead. There's a bit of tears, some heartaches, a tinge of angst, a sense of loss, and a healthy dose of laughter; Kudos to the entire cast for their wonderful performances. The lead character could not have been played better by Chris Stafford, who has the incredible ability to convey such wide range of emotions/reactions, from being speechlessly moved with a sense of implicit pressured in realizing how hard his parents have to work to send him to college, to being awkwardly "pleasured" during a post-clubbing front-seat rimming session. Tina Holmes also delivered an outstanding performance as the "girlfriend" of the lead. Instead of playing it like a stereotypical witty and I've-got-ten-thousand-comeback-line faghag, Holmes' Maggie is every bit as complex as the young man in the spotlight. At times, she reminded me of a young Meryl Streep, with her dead-on display of subtle emotional shifts.
I've seen just about every gay movie out there, and 'edge of seventeen' is by far one of my favorites. The one word that best describes it is 'honest'....but it's also nostalgic, funny, wonderfully simple, yet beautifully complex. The viewer can start off enjoying how accurately it captures the mid 80's, especially the excitement and uncertainty that Eric, the main character, is experiencing. Then, as the story unfolds, each new development that Eric deals with as he comes to terms with being gay is so well done, so honest and nontheatrical, that it feels almost like a documentary. The movie's got a huge heart. Don't miss it!!!
Storyline
Did you know
- TriviaMuch of the filming took place in Sandusky, Ohio, with the amusement park scenes filmed at Sandusky's Cedar Point, the amusement park where the writer actually worked when he was in high school.
- GoofsAlthough the movie is set in 1984, the shots of Cedar Point Amusement Park clearly show "The Raptor", which was not built until 1994, a decade later.
- Crazy creditsDelaria is seen still on stage after the credits briefly telling the audience to "go home."
- Alternate versionsThe version shown on TV has been cut down to 78 minutes.
- ConnectionsFeatured in Indie Sex: Teens (2007)
- SoundtracksThe Cherries
Written and Performed by Dominic Glynn and Martin Smith
Published by Jim Long Music (ASCAP)
Courtesy of Zomba Music Services
- How long is Edge of Seventeen?Powered by Alexa
Details
Box office
- Budget
- $700,000 (estimated)
- Gross US & Canada
- $871,759
- Opening weekend US & Canada
- $5,302
- May 2, 1999
- Gross worldwide
- $871,759
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