DVD tip

The Edge of Seventeen

Another coming-of-age teen flick? You'd be forgiven for being all ho-hum about it, but "The Edge of Seventeen" infuses the genre with a bit of freshness and warmth, thanks to writer-director Kelly Fremon Craig and star Hailee Steinfeld. Craig uses the usual teen-film tropes (a house party, the heroine's attraction to a bad boy), but she grounds it all beautifully. There is no villain making Nadine's (Steinfeld) life miserable. Rather, it's the fact that her best and only friend has started dating Nadine's brother. Nadine, who is a smart, funny outsider, feels forsaken. Steinfeld shines, particularly when bouncing off Woody Harrelson as a sarcastic teacher. The only off note is Nadine's flibbertigibbet of a mother (played by Kyra Sedgwick), who feels like a caricature.