The Spectacular Now

There's a very real danger in simply living in the moment. While it may sound exciting and adventurous, it also invites complacency and stagnation, a dangerous cocktail made more lethal when alcohol is thrown into the mix. While this may sound like a proper lead-in for director James Ponsoldt's previous Sundance hit, Smashed, it serves equally well for his wonderful coming of age story, The Spectacular Now. Teen romances are a dime a dozen, but it's rare to find one that has so much meaning and isn't just an excuse to pair up two beautiful people. The film deals believably and honestly with teen anxieties about the future, while also exploring the familial impact of addiction. If that sounds like potentially weighty stuff, that's because it is. Emotions run high from the very beginning and never let up even for a moment, from the joys of first love to painful examinations of one's self worth. Aided by tremendous performances by Miles Teller and Golden Globe nominee Shailene Woodley, we may be looking at one of the year's first truly great films. Before it gets to all that, the story may look and feel quite familiar. Sutter Keely(Teller) has everything that a high school senior could want. He's popular, forming the elite power couple with his girlfriend Cassidy(Brie Larson), and is always the life of the party. He's also a functioning alcoholic, taking quick sips from his flask at all hours of the day. As the school year begins to draw to a close, thoughts turn to the future. Cassidy, wanting more for herself than just a fun time, dumps him suddenly. Dealing with it the only way he knows how, Sutter drinks himself into a stupor, waking up on the lawn of Aimee Finicky(Woodley), an average and mostly invisible girl from school. Aimee is a beauty, but doesn't have the confidence in herself for others to see it. On the other hand, Sutter is the complete opposite. A completely charismatic figure with no fear of anything, the two begin a relationship that quickly blossoms into something more. Ponsoldt captures their budding love sweetly and without pretension. The two are a perfect mix on the surface. He emboldens her to stand up for herself and live a little, while she keeps him grounded enough to prevent a total meltdown. Through one another, they learn to deal with their various family issues with strength. Both come from broken homes, albeit via different means, and the added responsibility from such an arrangement has impacted them both. Most telling is the disappearance of Sutter's father (Kyle Chandler), who left the family under bad circumstances years earlier, leaving his mother(Jennifer Jason Leigh) to fend for herself. Sutter carries hopes that his father will someday enter back into his life, despite his family, including his sister(Mary Elizabeth Winstead) hoping for the complete opposite. The film smashes all genre cliches with its authentic portrayal of the two lead characters. It's always a trap of teen romances to turn it into yet another version of She's All That, with a quick make-over and a cool new boyfriend changing the female's life forever. It's not that simple here, and Woodley captures Aimee's shyness and vulnerability without pushing it on us. While she was excellent in The Descendants and deserving of the acclaim she received, this is a role that requires more maturity and nuance, and the results may again see her in awards company. Teller, who gave as good as he got opposite Nicole Kidman in Rabbit Hole, is no less extraordinary as a guy trying to mask his insecurities under a shield of jokes and liquid courage. Movies like this tend to do great business at festivals, but don't always measure up after general audiences get done with them. Although writers Michael H. Weber and Scott Neustadter know a thing or two about turning teen romance into a critical and box office powerhouse, having written the whimsical (500) Days of Summer a few years ago. Much like that film, The Spectacular Now isn't satisfied with giving us the same old fluff, it aims for something deeper and lands a direct hit. Read more

However much the storyline might seem a bit of a Good Will Hunting ripoff, there's not a performance one that isn't the real thing. And where it would have been easy to take cheap shots -- like demonizing the blonde ex-girlfriend or glorifying her new boyfriend beyond reason -- it doesn't. I'm not in favor of glorifying alcoholic high schoolers either, but they come in many varieties, just like all people do. This one is particularly likeable in the gentle and generous hands of Miles Teller, and he's met more than halfway by the incredible Shailene Woodley. Their characters are both wounded birds who are lucky enough to meet and offer the possibility of redemption. Whatever, it's impossible not to love them. With a solid cast behind them, good direction and editing, and a script that probably offers each viewer a realistic glimpse of some corner of their own coming of age to some degree, you can't lose with this film. It's become a real favorite of mine, and Teller and Woodley have shot to the top of my list of actors I will go to see, no matter how their films are reviewed. They are truly at the head of a new generation worthy of the legitimacy that Paul Newman and Joanne Woodward brought to an older generation. It's too late for me to see the legacy I expect them to build, but if there's a heaven, I'm hoping for theatres in the spectacular hereafter. Read more

My rating is more of a 3.5. Thanks for reading in advance! The Spectacular Now is a 2013 American coming-of-age romantic drama film directed by James Ponsoldt, written by Scott Neustadter and Michael H. Weber, and starring Miles Teller and Shailene Woodley. Based on the 2008 novel of the same name by Tim Tharp about a high school senior grappling with alcoholism. Without a smidge of a doubt: the success of ‘The Spectacular Now’ is due largely to the performances of both Teller and Woodley. More specifically, the vulnerability and authenticity of their separate contributions Is elevated by their non-Stop chemistry that is electrifying and palpable. Their interactions with one another remain relatively grounded and even those that had the potential to be unnecessarily dramatic - like in one scene where their characters are shown having sex for the first time - are kept secure enough to reflect experiences that are bound to resonate with their target audience. There is a particular reason why I chose to use the phrase “target audience” just now; for those of you that are unfamiliar with my movie review technique I find it important to share that I always begin by making a list of things I anticipate having comments about before even starting the film. After reading the summary of ‘The Spectacular Now’ I got a little worried about the role that Aimee (Woodley) would play in the grand scheme of things. It is common to use romantic interests - especially women - as a way of lazily explaining how individuals that display troubling behavior can change their lives for the better at what seems to be the drop of a hat. While I can say that it is true that Aimee challenges Sutter’s (Teller) expectations of normal (and, in some ways, playfully inspires him to make choices that significantly affect his life) there is still enough done to imply that Sutter’s potential development of a character isn’t vapidly attached to her existence - and this is arguably an important message for young and potentially vulnerable viewers. I’m reasonably torn on my thoughts regarding how the subject of alcoholism is touched on in this movie, however. On one hand, there is an attempt to provide a multifaceted explanation for why Teller drinks alcohol to the extent that he does. Through the use of personal anecdotes it’s made perfectly clear that the consumption of this substance has been normalized by his father starting from a very early age, and that this gives him a way to connect with family members he now has faint memories of that are understandably polarized in their favor. Secondly, alcohol is also alluded to as being a way for him to cope with situations that otherwise could make him uncomfortable. When he offers Aimee a drink and it is refused he casually retorts: 𝑱𝒖𝒔𝒕 𝒉𝒐𝒍𝒅 𝒊𝒕. 𝑰𝒕 𝒈𝒊𝒗𝒆𝒔 𝒐𝒇𝒇 𝒕𝒉𝒆 𝒊𝒍𝒍𝒖𝒔𝒊𝒐𝒏 𝒕𝒉𝒂𝒕 𝒚𝒐𝒖'𝒓𝒆 𝒉𝒂𝒗𝒊𝒏𝒈 𝒇𝒖𝒏. It’s such a tiny line - tiny enough to miss if one isn't paying attention - but it speaks to a whole other side of Sutter that is drenched with insecurity and uncertainty. Where my complimentary attitude in this regard ends is in how the use of alcohol is incorporated when the entire context is taken into consideration. I couldn’t help but notice that Sutter is often in situations where drinking recreationally is socially acceptable - like when in attendance at a party - and he doesn’t stand-out amongst his peers as someone developing a significant drinking problem. There is some integration of behavior that implies a problematic relationship with alcohol - like scenes in which he sneaks it in to his drinks at work - but these could rightfully be labelled as ‘cliche’ and don’t carry the emotional gravity they probably should. Even the climax - which, no spoilers, but involves a near fatal accident- ultimately feels like a hurried attempt to gift-wrap this struggle so as to put it up for auction. I am left wondering as an audience member how Sutter copes with situations where alcohol 𝒔𝒊𝒎𝒑𝒍𝒚 𝒊𝒔𝒏’𝒕 𝒂𝒗𝒂𝒊𝒍𝒂𝒃𝒍𝒆, and it’s truly a shame that this side of his story is criminally neglected. The question of whether or not the book or movie is better can be a difficult one, and this case is of no exception. Tharp’s novel concludes on a wildly ambivalent note and doesn’t spoon-feed its audience a formulic story regarding redemption. This may seem to inch along the seams of pessimism, but it’s real and embraces characters that are jagged in spirit and rough around the edges. Ponsoldt’s vision ends on a point that leaves room for interpretation while simultaneously encapsulating themes which serve as a common thread for the coming-of-age genre. In no way can I say this film blew me away - but what one can consciously take out of this film is larger than the attention people may be willing to give it in the first place. It struggles in many ways with establishing personalities that are multi-dimensional, but this love-letter to grief, painful introspection, and rising above our current circumstances is far from falling on deaf ears. I would recommend! Read more