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Jump to the good stuff: The Story | Some Thoughts | Final Verdict

The Story:

Edge of Seventeen is a gay coming of age movie set in Ohio in 1984.

Chris Stafford plays Eric Hunter, a seventeen-year-old closeted gay boy working a summer job at an amusement park restaurant with gal pal Maggie (Tina Holmes). Although Maggie’s romantic feelings for Chris are clear, he doesn’t notice.

The restaurant is managed by a raucous lesbian named Angie (Lea DeLaria). They also work with out and proud Rod (Andersen Gabrych), who Eric is secretly attracted to. While Eric and Rod form a friendship and flirt with each other, Maggie is left unaware and patiently waiting in the wings.

On the final day of work, Eric and Rod get a room and have sex. This is Eric’s first time, and he falls head over heels in love with Rod. Rod leaves for college and doesn’t return Chris’ calls.

Distraught, heartbroken, and with nobody to talk to, Eric starts acting out. He changes his look, goes to parties, and then finds the local gay bar. It’s not easy watching Eric looking for love with tricks while longing for the man who broke his heart.

When Chris hits bottom and has nowhere to go, he visits Maggie and comes out to her. Eric is so self-absorbed that he doesn’t see how his news effects Maggie, who gives him love and support despite the heartbreak it’s causing her. For Maggie, their friendship holds that much meaning.

Unfortunately, Eric’s downward spiral doesn’t end with his coming out to Maggie. He’s still hiding his sexuality from his parents and hasn’t fully accepted being gay. It also forces him to make some difficult decisions and come to terms with who he is.

The end isn’t cut and dry, but it has a positive note.  

Some Thoughts:

Edge of Seventeen gets everything right, from the clothes to the cars and the music. Director David Moreton has a vision for the film that’s honest and focuses on reality. It’s good to see a movie that takes place in the 1980s that isn’t over stylized or centered on the gaudy fashions.

The acting in Edge of Seventeen is good overall. Holmes steals the show with her portrayal of a teenage girl that’s sensitive and nuanced. While teenagers today have a better sense of the various degrees of sexuality, that wasn’t the case in 1984. When Maggie discovers that not only is Rod is gay, but Angie is a lesbian, she’s a bit surprised. She tries to talk to Eric about it, but he quickly changes the subject.

Stafford plays Eric with a subdued confusion that makes his character believable. He and Holmes work well together, and the disparity between their feelings is evident from the start.

The chemistry between Stafford and Gabrytch is there, making it easy to see how the closeted Chris could fall in love with the confident and charismatic Rod.

Final Verdict:

Edge of Seventeen has everything a movie needs to succeed. It’s an honest depiction of being a gay teenager in the 1980s with some of the best acting I’ve seen in a low budget gay film made in the 1990s.