Edge of Seventeen (movie) /Cedar Point

Just watched this movie on Netflix streaming. It's about a kid 'coming out' and he works at Cedar Point. I think it's called "Crystal Waters" in the movie. It brought up all kinds of feelings and memories for me, from when I worked at the Point 91-93.

Good movie, I was surprised it was filmed in the 90's. It really could pass for early 80's - which is the period the movie is set. Except I was almost sure I saw Raptor as Disaster Disco at the beginning; then for sure I saw them at the end. The movie has some very awkward, uncomfortable and sad scenes/themes.

Cedar Point was a good place to come out - I guess, don't have much to compare it to. Everyone was pretty cool, minus the occasional boy or girl who would ask "does he really like guys?" Comes with the territory I guess. Brings back weird twisted memories of trying to force myself to date girls "just to make sure."

The soundtrack is a retro 80s fest complete with Eurythmics posters all over thisd kids wall, Yaz, Missing Persons, Bronski Beat - pretty much the popular gay wave stuff. I was happy to see the Debbie Harry "KooKoo" album on his wall and even more surprised when he was wearing an X tee shirt.

Those were great summers. Crazy dorms, crazy behavior, riding coasters after we got off work. Ride nights... Skate parties, movie nights, the beach, a classic Blue Streak...

I've always wanted to see that. I was unaware that it was on Netflix Instant. Thanks! :)

You're welcome, Travis. I hope you enjoy it.

The movie has a decent rating on rotten tomatoes too. I think I might check it out ;)

Yeah. I have seen the edge of Seventeen, and it was filmed at Cedar Point. But, there isn't a whole lot of park footage in the film, and the lead role in the film is a kind of Vanilla Ice, Boy George, Wanna be, which was a huge let down for me. As in why did every film about gay men have to have a screaming queen in the lead role.

You want to see an example of this, watch "another gay movie." There is a scene in AGM, that was taken right from the Edge of Seventeen, where the son comes out to the mother while she is playing the piano. The best part is, the mother in another gay movie, is the same actress that played the mother in Edge of Seventeen.

In "Another Gay Movie" The son comes out to his mother while wearing a blue spandex outfit, and crazy hair...and he says "Mom. I like guys." And, she looks like she is going to be really sad, until she gets this big smile on her face, and goes "WELL DUHHH!!!" Then she whips out a video of him doing Madonna's entire blonde ambition tour in drag when he was 5. It's Halarious!! But, it should also be rated X for lots of nudity. But, still pretty darn funny, if you can get it. The lead guy is a mix of a bad drag queen, and Paul Lynd.

Another teen drama involving an amusement park, that is for the hormone raged straight kids. It's called "Adventureland." It's about a bunch of kids that spend their summer working for a very cheaply run Amusement park. And, all of the romances that take place. It's supposed to be a comedy, but, it's not really that funny. More of a drama. But, it is a decent film, much better acting than Edge of 17.

But, my favorite coaster movies are still Vactation, and Rollercoaster. I will never get tired of watching Vacation. There is some stuff in it that I never caught. Some of the best stuff happens at the relatives house. Like the kid asking his cousin if he has Asteroids, and his cousin responds, "No...but my dad does..he can't even sit on the toilet some days!" And, the old lady, who played aunt Etna was hysterical!

"Is this your idea of a good restaurant...DOG KILLER!!!" LOL

I'm all for comedy. But, if you're looking for coaster footage, and park footage. Rollercoaster can't be beat.

"Sorry folks. Park's closed. The moose out front shoulda told ya."

National Lampoons Vacation is ages old, and is still one of the funniest movies I have ever seen. I really don't think that anyone will make another movie of that caliber in my lifetime.

They did. It was called Christmas Vacation!!

Thanks for the post CoasterDemon. I haven't seen this movie in years. Might need to add it to my Amazon wish list.

If you have Amazon Prime, it's free to stream. I might check this out for free. Is this the only movie ever filmed at Cedar Point?

But, in reading feedback and reviews, I see mentions of sad scenes and the movie even described as "haunting." Let's cut to the chase...is this a movie containing suicide, or one that leaves the viewer feeling very sad/depressed? If so, I think I'll pass. Feel free to PM me if you don't want to wreck details for others.

^No suicidal idealizations, Jeph.

However, I did find it very uncomfortable at times - but glad I watched it.

Glad you liked it Coaster Demon. I saw this a few months ago and really enjoyed it too. The soundtrack is awesome and characters and situations were all very genuine.

Thanks for the hint will watch too :)

The music also sounds a lot like it's going to bring back memories, but it must feel really special when you have all the personal memories of the place and time.
(for me this would have to play out in a catholic highschool with the religion teacher taking AIDS as an opportunity to enlighten his students that homosexuality is a perversion)

Somehow i'm currently out of practice with the gay/coming out themed films, i used to be all over it in the 90ies after my own c/o but more recently my priorities shifted, it sometimes puzzles me...
Anyway, there are a lot of new gay films coming out but it seems to have become a different time altogether- very different attitudes, much less existential questioning and more comedy as it seems.

I guess that might also be a good thing. :)

Jeph said:
Is this the only movie ever filmed at Cedar Point?

No, but it's a heck of a lot better than the other movie filmed at the park.

Edit: Apparently CE4K is actually being sold on Amazon. Only $21.95 more than anybody should ever pay to see it.

Jeph said:
Let's cut to the chase...is this a movie containing suicide, or one that leaves the viewer feeling very sad/depressed? If so, I think I'll pass.

It is kind of sad, but, a lot of the movies that came out on the subject during that time were sad. However, they claim that this film broke barriers when it was released, and most theaters didn't want to show it, because it was about gay teens. But, there is nothing shocking about this film, and I thought it was kind of boring. Besides the Cedar Point stuff.

But, I saw a lot of really great gay films before I saw 17. And, I have seen countless films on the subject since. The most recent being Brokeback Mountain and Shelter, which are very dramatic love stories. Also a few comedy dramas like "Jeffrey" and "Billy's Hollywood Screen Kiss." Which are pretty much B movies with some great actors in them. Two of the saddest films out there are "Long Time Companion" and "Torch Song Trilogy." which both have awesome acting in them. But very...very sad.

I wrote an article on hubpages about this subject. People often comment on movies that I haven't seen. So I check them out when I can. I also saw "Milk" which was a good movie about Harvey Milk with Sean Penn. Another sad one. We need more to come out where there just might be a happy ending for a change!!!

I just watched it. Not bad! Although it was filmed in 1998, it could almost easily pass for an 80's movie that was actually filmed in 80's. :) There was a long shot of CP near the end that showed Raptor for a few seconds. Other than that I thought they did a great job trying to keep it as "1984" as they could.

I LOVED the music and the general 80's nostalgia. The 126 (or 110?) film camera with the disposable flashes was a nice touch, as well as the large headphones. I can't get that Haircut 100 song out of my head now...:)

I was also glad that it had a happy ending. :) I was expecting a lot worse.

-Tina