As Hailee Steinfeld so succinctly points out at the beginning of the trailer, high school is full of people who seem to be doing everything right, and then there’s you. The first trailer for The Edge of Seventeen pays tribute to John Hughes dramedies and Alexander Payne’s dry humor in failure and embarrassment.
Apparently not fully immersing herself in her music career, Oscar-nominated Hailee Steinfeld makes an adorably goofy, lovable and severely sympathetic teenager just trying to make it through the hell that is high school. Her situation is worsened when her only friend (Haley Lu Richardson) starts dating her “golden boy” brother (Blake Jenner) and hanging out with the popular kids. Woody Harrelson also joins the cast as a hilarious, apathetic teacher who becomes Steinfeld’s reluctant mentor.
Harrelson and Steinfeld’s chemistry is thickly palpable, and the couple of scenes that they tease are the highlights of the trailer. According to People, Steinfeld loved working with Harrelson: “We just couldn’t keep it together. I really hope there’s some kind of blooper reel.”
The Edge of Seventeen heads to theaters on September 30. Watch the Red Band trailer below.