...and a bit obvious to at least me as a viewer. Why can't the parents see what is going on if I can see it from just about frame one and one outsider says the whole problem in one sentence clearly stated as he speeds away from town? The locale is one of those HOA standalone developments in the prairie that was built from end to end as a planned community. The location is never mentioned. The filming was done in Aurora,Colorado, but it appears to be possibly an exoburb of a large city in California (LA/SF/SD??) that is far enough away from the city that urban criminals will not be hanging around, and if they do will stick out like a non-white thumb, yet close enough that "dad" can still commute. This film was made at the tail end of an era in which the majority of wives stayed at home while dad trudged to work every morning. All of the apartments look alike. All of the houses look alike. The high school looks like a prison and seemingly has no history or traditions and is named after the development for which it was formed - New Granada.

There are tennis courts and other amenities for the adults. The problem? There is absolutely NOTHING for the children to do. There is one lone recreation center, but it only has a few pool tables so the kids get together there and share their collective bad habits. Predictably as the children turn into teens they dabble in alcohol, drugs, bored heavy petting and sex, vandalism, and pranks that could turn dangerous - shooting a bee-bee gun at a cop car from an overpass and setting up fireworks to go off underneath cars.

The parents treat the kids like they are some other species. Every incident sparks a reaction from the adults that just makes the kids more rebellious and bored - stay away from your friends! Close down that rec center, it is nothing but a breeding ground for trouble! We need a 9PM curfew! etc. You just want to shake these people and say "Get a grip! These are YOUR kids! How would you feel in this environment? This is not The Village of the Damned!" Then a gun gets into the hands of the teens. They practice shooting cans, they like the power it gives them, then they get into trouble playing a practical joke with it, the cops join chase, and one kid ends up dead. The kid's gun - unloaded at the time.

This causes a final scene that just goes a bit too wild for 1979 suburban kids. It seems like the director said - to quote the film Ed Wood - "I want the film to end with a big explosion". I'll let you watch and find out what happens.

If I have any other criticism at all it is that, although they talk about what they don't want, I never hear enough about what the kids DO want. They never seem quite humanized enough for me in spite of numerous scenes of conversation between each other. However, it is good seeing later talent developing at a young age - Matt Dillon and Vincent Spano in particular. I'd recommend it.

I generally dislike teen movies. Mainly because they're so unrealistic, romanticized versions of high school and teen life. Usually featuring a bunch of stereotypes and some dumb, superficial plot. "Over the Edge," hovever, is one of the few teen movies that actually gets it right.

The movie focuses on a bunch of teens living in the boring, lifeless town of New Granada. A place with with nothing to do. No mall, no movie theaters, not even a fast food place. Nothing to give them somewhere to go or something to do. The adults in the movie can't be bothered with them and are more interested in bringing people into New Granada and developing the town rather than meet the needs of the town's youth. This makes the teens restless and bored and they resort to drugs, guns and crime to keep them occupied. The also misbehave in school and frustrate their teachers.

The local authorities try setting up a curfew, holding meetings and assemblies, and even shut down the local recreation center which provided the teens the only place they can go for fun and social contact. All the while overlooking the real source of the problem. The local sherrif who occasionally harasses the kids (often unfairly) only adds to the problem. The frustration finally builds and builds until the movie's destructive climax.

Based on a true incident, "Over the Edge" is a film which, unlike most teen movies, deals with more weighty topics than who's taking who to the prom. This is a much more realistic portrayal of teen life than "Sixteen Candles" or "Can't Hardly Wait." While the movie brings its message across, it does so without comming across as preachy.

I'm also amazed at how prophetic this movie ended up being, gieven the recent shootings at Littleton. The nation's media and politicians put the blame on the entertainment industry (movies, TV, videogames, etc.) and are overlooking the real cause of what happened. This is very much like the adults in "Over the Edge." Closing down the rec center and setting up a curfew didn't make the problem go away because they had nothing to do with the cause of the problem. In fact, they just made things worse.

"Over the Edge" is a well made and underrated film that sadly rings just as true now as it did in 1979. The next time someone tells you that "The Breakfast Club" is the greatest teen movie ever, show them this movie and set them straight.

I first saw this in the early 90s on a vhs n loved the film then and still now. This movie is still very relevant.

Revisited it recently.

This movie is very powerful n realistic n at times very scary inspite of it being a non horror film.

Most of the characters in this movie will remind you of someone you knew while growing up.

The story is about bored n neglected kids who turn to drinking, drugs n vandalism while the adults n police are relentlessly curbing the kids through a 9:30 pm curfew rather than understanding the root causes.