Being 17 (2016)

In 2016 two films about 17-year-olds were released: Kelly Fremon Craig’s American dramedy The Edge of Seventeen and André Téchiné’s French drama Being 17. But what separates these two movies from one another? Other than the ocean, it’s the fact that the former is about a high school girl (Hailee Steinfeld) and the latter is about a teenaged guy (Kacey Mottet Klein). Also known as Quand on a 17 ans, the foreign flick follows Damien Delille (Klein) who lives with his mother Marianne (Sandrine Kiberlaine). Even though she’s a doctor, she can’t remedy Damien’s situation at school where he’s being bullied by his classmate Thomas Chardoul (Corantin Fila). As such, Damien takes self-defense classes with his pal Paulo (Jean Corso). As it turns out, this isn’t really necessary because Dr. Mom actually does come to the rescue. After visiting Thomas’s mother Christine (Mama Prassinos) on a house call, Marianne invites Thomas to come and stay with her and her son while his mother gets better. Needless to say, the once antagonistic relationship between Damien and Thomas changes but not without enduring a lot of trials and tribulations. During Damien’s journey to self-discovery, he watches Thomas doff his duds and jump in a lake. Even though the water is cold, the scene is hot since we get to view Corantin’s bare chest, bum and a bit of his shaft. Not to be outdone, Damien’s dad (Alexis Loret) serves his baguette to Marianne. The skintastic act shows off his balls and buns. Bone appétit!