Movie Review: The Spectacular Now
What We Liked
What We Didn't Like
The Spectacular Now is a special movie. Adapted from the novel by Tim Tharp by (500) Days of Summer scribes Scott Neustadter and Michael H. Weber, the script is heartwarming, charming, entertaining, funny, and at times, utterly devastating. Instead of being the typical romantic teen comedy, The Spectacular Now feels real, which only adds to how amazing the movie is.
The film centers around a high school senior named Sutter (Miles Teller). He’s cocky, charming, the life of the party, and an alcoholic. Instead of worrying about the future, Sutter lives in the here and now and is completely satisfied with that. His girlfriend (Brie Larson) isn’t and ends their relationship. When that happens, Sutter flips from functional drunk (he’s usually seen sporting a flask or a 7-11 cup filled with liquor and pop) to black out drunk. He wakes up the next day on someone’s front lawn.
That someone ends up being Aimee (Shailene Woodley). She doesn’t run in the same circles as Sutter. Instead of partying and drinking, she’s more content reading manga and science fiction novels. Think of her as Sutter’s polar opposite. He wants to drink, have fun, and work at a shoe store for the rest of his life; she wants to go to college and make something of herself. Even though he’s a drunk, Sutter is also a nice guy, so he befriends Aimee and takes her under his wing. The odd couple friendship that results finds Aimee gaining friends, confidence, and feelings for Sutter. As an unfortunate side effect, she also starts drinking (which Sutter just perpetuates by giving her a personalized flask as a gift). Sutter begins to reciprocate those feelings, even though he’s still obsessed with his old girlfriend.
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The Spectacular Now looks at teen relationships and love through a realistic lens. Don’t go into the movie expecting a tight plot filled with the usual tropes of the high school romantic comedy. The teens in The Spectacular Now don’t have neat little lives that can be tied up within the span of a two-hour movie. There’s even one scene that was so sudden and shocking, it caused the entire audience to gasp. In fact, while the relationship between Sutter and Aimee frames the movie, it also touches on the more serious issues of alcoholism, abandonment, and how people truly perceive each other.
Shailene Woodley and Miles Teller
in “The Spectacular Now.” © 2013 – A24.
I could go on and on about the script and source material, but Miles Teller and Shailene Woodley are the true champions here. Both of them bring Sutter and Aimee to life with such precision that their performances made me even more invested in their character’s success than I was at the beginning of the movie. These are defining performances for both actors.
The character of Sutter staggers on the line between outward confidence and inner turmoil. I could just feel his pain seeping through his facade of confidence. Aimee, on the other hand, has been thrust into this life, one that she never experienced because of how sheltered she was. I wanted her away from Sutter because he was bad news; she just couldn’t see it and kept making bad decisions.
Things happen in The Spectacular Now that made me happy, sad, thoughtful, angry, and ultimately satisfied. This is definitely one of those emotional roller coaster movies. One moment you’ll feel great and the next, your emotions hit rock bottom. No matter what, you will be completely invested in what happens and you’ll leave the film completely satisfied. While this may sound clichéd, The Spectacular Now is this year’s Silver Lining’s Playbook – and it’s a movie that deserves to be seen by as many people as possible.
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