Miles Teller
Shailene Woodley
Brie Larson
Jennifer Jason Leigh
Kyle Chandler

Scott Neustadter
Michael H. Weber

95 mins.
Comedy, Drama, Romance
September 13, 2013

Rated R for alcohol use, language and some sexuality – all involving teens. (MPAA)

“The Spectacular Now,” written by Scott Neustadter and Michael H. Weber, who co-wrote “(500) Days of Summer,” and based on the eponymous novel by Tim Tharp, starts with the right kind of energy. It matches the rhythms and attitude of its main character, Sutter, played by 26-year-old Miles Teller. He’s just been dumped by his girlfriend and starts the movie by referencing this in a draft of a college essay. Essentially, he’s hurt, but he tries to hide it with normal teenaged braggadocio. He’s a likable mess and is treated as such by his schoolmates and friends.

Shailene Woodley co-stars as Aimee, a girl who finds Sutter lying on his lawn and begins a friendship with him. (At 22, Woodley, with the upcoming “Divergent” movie franchise, seems to be following in 23-year-old Jennifer Lawrence’s footsteps. Woodley starred in “The Descendants,” as well.)

Sutter pretends to hang out with Aimee just to help her (he doesn’t tell her this), but he eventually begins to fall for her and she for him. This is fraught with challenges because he doesn’t trust himself: you see, he still has feelings for his ex. Aimee, as played by Woodley, is completely open to Sutter, though.

The two stars of this film have great chemistry and authenticity. They have the slight awkwardness of high school seniors who are still discovering things as they’re confronted with plans for their immediate future. They never come across as “movie” teens.

The improv in this film is well-used. Also, the shift into more serious and, at times, startling (perhaps too startling) moments is justified by everything that happens earlier in the film. There’s a tenderness and simplicity to this film that makes the characters easy to relate to.

I enjoyed this, overall; I was actually charmed by a lot of it. By the end, I empathized with the characters. It took me back to that transitional period from high school to college. Even when Sutter makes bad decisions and Aimee stands by him, I still liked both of them and understood their behavior. I didn’t like all of their choices, but those choices made sense.

“The Spectacular Now” has been compared to “The Perks of Being a Wallflower” and “Say Anything.” I agree with the comparison on the grounds of authenticity and distinctiveness, but this film is its own being. Watching those three films, along with “The Kids Are All Right” (even though “The Kids Are All Right” has more of an adult presence), would make for a great theme night.

This is a very well done effort by director James Ponsoldt.

Verdict: Very, Very Good

About: (Source: spectacularnow)

Based on the beloved book by Tim Tharp, THE SPECTACULAR NOW is the story of Sutter Keely (Miles Teller) – high school senior, effortless charmer, and self-proclaiemd “life of the party” – and of how he unexpectedly falls in love with the “nice girl” Aimee Fineky (Shailene Woodley). While Aimee dreams of the future, Sutter lives in the now. And yet somehow, they’re drawn together. What starts as an unlikely romance becomes a sharp-eyed, straight-up snapshot of the heady confusion and haunting passion of youth – one that doesn’t look for tidy truths. The film was directed by James Ponsoldt and written by Scott Neustadter and Michael Weber ((500) DAYS SUMMER), and also features wonderful supporting turns from Brie Larson, Kyle Chandler, Jennifer Jason Leigh, and Mary Elizabeth Winstead.