User reviews

Greetings again from the darkness. Coming-of-age teen dramas with a comedic flair that speak to that tumultuous period of life are rarely worthy of discussion. The exceptions hover film greatness: Rebel Without a Cause, Fast Times at Ridgemont High, Dazed and Confused, The Breakfast Club, and Say Anything ... Along comes young director James Ponsoldt and his adaptation of Tim Tharp's novel. While not perfect and falling just short of the level of those classics, it is nonetheless a welcome addition and quite interesting.

It's tempting to call Sutter (played by up-and-comer Miles Teller) a happy-go-lucky kid. He's the frat boy type - quick with a quip, smooth with the parents and girls, and the envy of the masses. That term would be misapplied to a kid who not only is never without his flask, but also gives them as gifts. He uses his wit and booze to dull the pain of his aimless existence. We see his lackadaisical efforts at completing a college admission form, and it's used as a plot device to track Sutter's progression through the film.

Brie Larson is terrific as Sutter's perfect match ... right up until she decides that his philosophy of living in the now (even spectacularly) doesn't leave hope for much of a future. After an extreme night of drinking and partying, Sutter gets awakened while laying in a neighbor's front yard. Shailene Woodley (The Descendants) is Aimee Finicky who recognizes the popular Sutter, even though he has no idea who she is. Slowly, the two connect on a level previously unknown to either ... some good, some not so wise (just like real teenagers).

This couple of opposites learn much from each other, and soon enough, Sutter is confronting his long last father (Kyle Chandler). No real surprises what he discovers, but it's a life lesson that must be learned. Sutter seeks more from his remaining family - a big sister (Mary Elizabeth Winstead) who escaped the grind, and a workaholic mom (Jennifer Jason Leigh) doing her best to provide hope for Sutter.

The script is co-written by Scott Neustadter and Michael Weber who also wrote (500) Days of Summer. John Hughes and Cameron Crowe proved they could present teen dilemmas in an entertaining way, and this one follows the same structure. This is a dialogue-heavy story as Sutter and Aimee struggle alone and together to figure out life's next steps.

I will say that for the first few minutes of the movie, I found Sutter to be the kind of guy that I would typically have no interest in. Tip of the cap to the filmmakers and Miles Teller for turning that around. It should also be noted that Shailene Woodley is so naturally affecting, that her character never comes across as anything but sincere. Given the state of today's mainstream coming of age stories, this one definitely deserves a look and could gather some attention come awards time.

I wanted to see this film to soothe my wife. She usually loves adolescent romance stuff, so I thought I would suffer through it. Instead, I ended up liking it more than she did.

The thing about romance films and adolescence films in particular is that the kids are presented like complete idiots, like aliens from the planet Dumb. In order to keep up with this superficial image all other characters must act the same. The result is a complete fake.

The Spectacular Now is nothing like that. From the start it portrays teens as complex, intelligent, troubled about their past and their future, maybe laid back alcoholics or chronically shy or overachievers with low self esteem. And they all interact like human beings. It's a joy to see a film like this.

I also loved that they didn't use the cheap tricks of romance movies in general. No evil adversary to define the character as good, no ultimate goal to direct the entire film from point A to point B, no artificial accidents or catastrophes to move people out of their stupor, no highschool cliques, no Facebook or Twitter dramas. Instead, normal people doing normal stuff, trying to get over themselves and have a happy life.

The film was not without its flaws. It was a little too slow, for once. It only lasted an hour and a half but it felt like more. Also there is a somewhat seamless jump of a few years that takes the viewer by surprise (I still don't know when it happened). Also, I am a bit grumpy today, the film probably deserved a 9. Go watch it!

Compared to other movie adaptations of teen novels, this is one of the good ones. It stayed true to the book, maybe with a slight alternate ending, but it didn't deviate from the plot. I felt Teller portrayed Sutter very well and both the main leads' acting felt genuine and believable.

The story isn't a predictable one, sure you have a stunning Woodley playing a girl who hasn't ever had a boyfriend, a part that was hard to believe. However, from how Woodley portrays Aimee, the typical nice girl, you can understand from Aimee's character and personality why she hasn't. I wish the movie would have added a bit more of how much Aimee changed because of Sutter, and some of the negative changes too, something that the book focuses a lot more on. I suggest to those planning on watching this to read the book as well, as I found that I got to know the characters a lot better from reading it.

If you're up for a feel-good, light comedy with predictable movie romance formula, this probably isn't that type of flick. I'd call this a more coming-of-age film which definitely has a Say Anything and Kings of Summer vibe, and if you liked The Spectacular Now then I would definitely watch those movies.

As I watch The Spectacular Now, i cannot help but reminisce on my younger years, when now was all that matters, when love was crazy and earth shattering, and when thoughts of the future felt unnecessary. For Average Joes out there, it is easy to find something to connect to in this film as it tells a grounded story that reflects on teenage experiences, from dreams, to falling in love, to the struggles to conform. As for the our dearest leads, i was Wowed by Miles and Shailene's absurdly natural performances, further allowing me to relate to the film through its characters. With their awkward mannerisms, spontaneous reactions, energetic and intense moments, I sincerely felt that they, were once us. Great job by the filmmakers for creating such a soulful and sincere teenage movie that is extraordinarily ordinary (in the realist sort of way).

This film tells the story of a high school student who parties and drinks hard. He meets a nice girl who is opposite of him, and they influence each other.

The film requires the main characters to be likable in order for viewers to care about them. Unfortunately, I do not care for either Sutter and Aimee. Sutter is an irresponsible young man, while Aimee's character is poorly developed to contrast Sutter. The events that happen in the film are either not engaging or dramatic enough. Even when Aimee gets hit by a car, there is little follow up on it. We do not get to see the emotional reactions of the people around her.

It tries to show the emotional baggage of the past and the difficulties in growing up. However, there is little depth in depicting the characters' psychological states. I find it disappointing.

Sundance-darling "The Spectacular Now" is a curious one. With a script by the guys who wrote "500 Days of Summer", the movie is about as slice- of-life as they come, and it is interesting and well-acted.

As the film unspools, it may subconsciously remind viewers of the imperfect messiness of Cameron Crowe's teen ode "Say Anything" - complete with a Cusack-like performance by Miles Teller.

Teller's Sutter character is smooth, confident, charming, occasionally- unlikable and flawed. It's an accomplished balancing act.

The centerpiece performance is really Shailene Woodley, as Sutter's new girlfriend Aimee. She gives the most natural performance of a teenager on screen in ages. Her unaffected, open assignment elevates every scene she's in.

Both performances are in service of a film that drifts through the senior high students' last weeks before the end of high school, and takes a mutedly-pessimistic approach of the future before our two leads. These two kids are invisibly shackled to their town, in their home life, their pasts. Echoing the crux at the centre of 1989's "Say Anything", Aimee figures an escape plan; Sutter seems to be blindly comfortable in his 'spectacular' now.

Pulling "Fast Times at Ridgemont High" alum Jennifer Jason-Leigh into the film as Sutter's world-worn mother was a nice touch. Her vacant-eyed mother is in keeping with the film's less-glamorous take.

The picture labours a bit too much in over-emphasizing Sutter's crutch, and the mid-film scenes visiting Sutter's estranged father had trouble finding the right tone between character and caricature. The movie doesn't feel any urgency to build to a conclusion, but when it does, it is understated, uneventful - kind of like our two characters, and sort of like real-life, too.

Life is messy, as is "The Spectacular Now". It eschews the studio slickness and over-plotted determination of more polished teenage products. Despite two grounded, award-worthy lead performances, this film seemed a touch sketched and ever-so-slightly inert.

I was lucky enough to see The Spectacular Now at an advance screening, and walking out, I had the unmistakable feeling that I can only describe as a "good movie buzz." You feel a little light on your feet. You're thinking not only about what you've just seen, but how it relates to you. It's a heartfelt story that distills all of the beauty, tenderness, and apocalyptic bleakness of youth into a 95 minute love story that portrays teenagers in the most honest way since the films of John Hughes. The Spectacular Now won Sundance's special jury prize for acting and within minutes, the reason for this becomes apparent. Beautiful, naturalistic performances all around. Miles Teller portrays Sutter Keely with charisma and an effervescent charm while Shailene Woodley imbues Aimee Finicky with a tender shyness that makes her character incredibly endearing. When you watch the two of them on screen together, their chemistry is not just apparent, it's intoxicating. And it's not just a movie held together by its performances. Scott Neustadter and Michael Weber have written an incredible screenplay with flawed yet likable characters you can't help but root for, and James Ponsoldt has delicately directed the script to make his best movie to date. The Spectacular Now is much more than another indie darling. It has breathed life into the "teen movie" genre by treating its characters with maturity and honesty. This is the coming of age movie of our time.

There seems to be a lot of coming-of-age movies being released within the past year. IMO the best of the crop are THE PERKS OF BEING A WALLFLOWER and THE WAY WAY BACK. Unfortunately, I can't put THE SPECTACULAR NOW in the same league. There just was nothing special about it. I think the main problem I had with the film was that (1) I didn't connect with any of the main characters as I did with PERKS, and (2) I didn't find it funny or heartwarming like WAY WAY BACK. To me, NOW seemed more like a TV movie than anything else. I mean, what was so original about the boy being like the father he never saw? Or the geeky girl having a crush with the cool guy at school?

I found The Spectacular now to be a very refreshing movie to watch. We've all seen the coming of age high school romance blahblahblah thing before, but the film takes you where you didn't expect it to go, and that is one of the qualities that makes it a great experience.

Miles Teller and Shailene Woodley are fantastic, particularly Woodley. I don't know how you can't be a fan of Teller, he is his usual self in this one and adds even more depth to himself. Woodley's as real as it gets in her performance. I didn't notice it until my second viewing in terms of how natural she was, but she was terrific.

Those two are already great to cast as leads, but it's always fun when the casting for anything is just all around fantastic. Tamper your expectations a bit because it's all about the leads in this one, but Coach Taylor, Bubbles, and Saul Goodman are great in the limited time they are on screen. I mean, Kyle Chandler, Andre Royo, and Bob Odenkirk.

The emotional impact of this film really hit me towards the end, and certain factors are very predominant in the movie that you definitely do not expect. Without spoiling anything, I'll just say take away a lot of the laughs you were expecting, and brace yourself for the feels and a very serious tone. This may damper some who came for this because it's from the dudes who did 500 Days of Summer, but It's still very good and the movie is actually funny in the spots it wants to be.

Overall, I think this is absolutely a film you want to see. Where the story goes widens the appeal of this movie by far in my opinion, so if you were just not going to see it or judged it by the trailers, don't. Give it a shot.

You know when you see those movies and you say they just don't make these anymore. Well this is that type of movie. Joining the ranks of the best teen movies ever made and possibly the most honest of the bunch The Spectacular now is absolutely brilliant. The film centers on Sutter played charmingly by Miles Teller a charming teenage alcoholic who after a breakup with his girlfriend Cassidy befriends a painfully Naive young girl names Aimee played effortlessly by the mega talented Shailene Woodley. Both of the characters are so complex and so is their story. Like so many other films concerning this age group it is coming of age but unlike most others it doesn't fall into any clichés and offers no easy answers. Equally moving, touching, hilarious and even a little shocking this film is painfully genuine. A true testament to the choices and experiences that shape you as a person. Miles Teller is brilliant as Sutter he's charming and damaged you go back and forth between loving and hating him and easily relatable sometimes in the worst ways and very reminiscent of a young John Cusack in his hey day. Shailene Woodley is so confident in her portrayal of Aimee so naive, vulnerable and insecure desperately in search of acceptance and love because of her home situation. But that's not where the great performances end. Mary Elizabeth Winstead as Sutter's sister Holly steals her scenes, Brie Larson as his girlfriend Cassidy, Jennifer Jason Leigh as his hard working mother Sara, Kyle Chandler as his father and just the whole cast feels so real. The Spectacular Now isn't just the bets film of the year it's an incredible experience. It's the type f film you leave haven't learned something. A film that inspires you to make changes. 5/5

May contain spoilers!!!

Gushing reviews here, so I must be the odd man out, but nothing about this film was believable -- all the way down to bars serving high school kids drinks, and a mother that seems to be unaware of parental legal liability for under-age drinking.

Sutter's super cool popularity is told to us, but never shown. The cool guys in high school always had a posse to roll with. This character has one pseudo friend, and rolls alone most of the time. At graduation, there's not a single male friend around to high-five and take selfies. That's not popular -- that is the geeky nerd that wishes they had just one good friend to hang with. You can't write scenes like this that totally betray the essence of the character you presented and expect anyone to buy it.

His ex girlfriend demands a relationship with a future? Seriously, at 18 years old? I don't know a single teenage girl thinking of college that wants to get that serious with a guy. There is way too much life to explore to be worrying about domestic bliss -- no matter how much you like a guy.

One could understand the characters appeal to a young girl without a lot of male attention, but this is girl (Amy) that has as much of a sense of what she wants in life as his ex-g.f., and his drunken charm would wear thin quickly.

These characters do not resemble high school kids in the least. College frat types -- yes, but not high school.

I live in Athens, Georgia, the location where this movie was filmed and the hometown of the director, James Ponsoldt. I loved Ponsoldt's previous movie, Smashed, which by the way featured a stunning performance by Mary Elizabeth Winstead, who plays Sutter's sister in this movie. So I really, really wanted to like Spectacular Now.

But what a huge disappointment. Sometimes when I watch a movie, I know in the first five minutes that I'm not going to like it. This was unfortunately one of those movies. My biggest problem was the awkward, underwritten dialog. Some scenes were almost painful to watch. I know that the awkwardness was supposed to make the movie more realistic. But if there are teenagers that talk like this, I've never known any. The dialog here, especially in some scenes, is more like improvisation than reality.

My other problem is that we are initially led to believe Aimee is a serious, bookish, "good" kid. But the way the story develops and the way Shailene Woodley plays the part, Aimee comes across as shallow, giggly, gullible, and immature, not to mention lacking in character. Having never taken a drink of alcohol, once she falls under Sutter's spell, she zips right on past beer and goes straight to regularly drinking the hard stuff without giving it a second thought, as if she's never even heard the word responsibility. Sure there are plenty of teens like Aimee, and Woodley does a good job of portraying her. But we see enough of teens like this in commercial Hollywood movies. I was hoping for a more interesting character in this independent film.

Sutter (Miles Teller) doesn't really face a lot of trouble recently. He's a party-loving, fast-talking clown who lives fast and in the moment, never thinking of the future. After getting dumped due to a misunderstanding, he goes out to get wasted, and finds himself being woken up by Aimee (Shailene Woodley), a regular plain Jane who has nothing really to offer, but with a very bright future ahead of her. Sparks fly, love blossoms and scabs are pulled, slowly.

What is remarkable about this familiar coming-of-age tale is that it doesn't pull back any punches. James Ponsoldt's "The Spectacular Now" is a raw, brutally honest film about teenage angst and explorations of self-worth. Ponsoldt and his writers (the same guys who wrote "500 Days of Summer", here basing off Tim Tharp's novel) purposely avert the generic "teen movie" clichés and doesn't rely on melodramatics, all the more transforming the film into a haunting and depressingly realistic exploration of youthful angst and lost chances.

Adding to the realism is just how natural the actors and characters are. If there is any indication to the amazing crop of recent young talent that are popping up in Hollywood, then Teller and Woodley would rank among the better ones so far. The duo doesn't just portray the couple as lovelorn teens - they fit the parts and connect so well that you will believe that these are real people we're watching, and not cardboard caricatures you see on the Disney Channel.

Sutter lives in the now, but tensions are burning behind Teller's eyes, revealing depths and fears that drive him to do so. Aimee is not a popular girl, but she has a soul, waiting for that special someone, her voice breaking even in hushed tones as she's never felt that way before. Every moment between the duo feels so real and raw that it hurts emotionally when they're hurt. All due praise to Teller and Woodley because both are absolutely terrific in their roles, and a salute to promising careers for both of them.

The screenplay is frank, with teenagers talking and acting the way they should in real life, hence the R-rating. I suppose guns, explosions and global destruction are less intense than teenage angst and emotions. No matter. This is a movie that is written and directed with a fiery passion, thanks to Ponsoldt and his crew. Quick-witted, dry humor sprinkle among the more dramatic moments to lend to the rich self- discovering aura of the movie, which lessens as the movie progresses realistically and depressingly to a fitting ending. This is a movie where the quiet moments matter and the emotions boil under the faces, and the audience is too afraid to realize it until it explodes.

Because Ponsoldt and his writers love and respect their characters, this emotional burst will put the audience through the wringer at times, while slightly older viewers will feel a burst of nostalgia flowing through them as they recreate their youth through Sutter and Aimee's eyes.

Just like adolescence, this is a bittersweet yet honest journey, and I for one am joyed that someone treats their characters and audience with equal amounts of respect and intelligent. The characters in this movie are real and true, and so is the emotional punch. "The Spectacular Now" is one of the best films of the year.

The Spectacular Now is a coming-of-age drama mixed with young love story about Sutter (Miles Kelly, an interesting, uncynical young find who can communicate a lot of different sides to this character without coming off too fresh or overwrought) who starts off obnoxious (but in the way that is believable to the way that teenage boys can get obnoxious) and in the wake of a failed relationship meets a good, sweet girl, Amy, and a natural relationship unfolds in their senior year of High School. While this is going on, he has a problem with alcohol - which extends to Amy - and about a past history that Sutter has to confront with a dead- beat father.

The film that is very well written (based on a book but having that same quality in the dialog and story turns that speaks to their intelligence at navigating conventions) without being show-offy, and performances that feel raw and sensitive and try to avoid a lot of clichés (or that Hollywood way of showing teenagers "like we think they are" as opposed to how they are closer to life), and a strong dramatic story about young love and overcoming the flaws in yourself.

It's not perfect, and has a few little things with the alcohol element to the film that irked me (which is much bigger than what you may realize seeing the trailer, much more actually, it's really a companion piece with this director's previous movie Smashed which is also about boozing), but its real and honest and that's so rare to find in a teenage story like this. Woodley has a long career ahead of her, and has that great distinction of being naturally pretty, dramatically intuitive, and yet is not SO pretty that you can't accept her as a cute teenager girl (or... dare I say Mary Jane in the next Spiderman movie?) Go see it - it's not top 10 of the year great, but it's great in the ways that matter for a story like this.

Sutter Keely (Miles Teller) is the life of the party with his girlfriend Cassidy (Brie Larson). She dumps him after a misunderstanding. He gets passed-out drunk and Aimee Finecky (Shailene Woodley) finds him asleep on a lawn during her paper route. He's an irresponsible teen who drinks too much. He finds something compelling about the quiet bookworm nice girl and asks her to the prom. Aimee has never had a boyfriend before and he has daddy issues.

This movie is low-key in tone. It allows the two leads to bring out their natural charms. The great thing about it is that the actors fit their characters so easily. The daddy issue isn't the most original and Sutter himself would say that his issues aren't greater than most other kids. I still like the performances.

Growing up I always had a pretty utopian view on what being a teenager in high school would be like. Once I got there, it was nothing like what I had thought, and plus we had no kids that looked like James Spader. Just because high school was not like a John Hughes film didn't make it a bad thing, I just think I would have had more fun at those schools than mine. Now a day in the perfect world is not what people want, they want something real, and in "The Spectacular Now" it feels like what being a teenager feels like today.

Now being a middle-aged man this is only a guess, but it sure feels right on. Sutter (Miles Teller) is that guy everyone likes, you know the life if any party. Sutter is enjoying every minute of high school, great times, and a great girlfriend named Cassidy (Brie Larson) to top it off. Sutter also likes to drink, and not the typical teenage drinking, he goes as far as carrying a flask and even putting alcohol in anything he drinks. After Cassidy breaks up with him, Sutter drinks a little too much and ends up passed out in the front of a house, not his own. He is found by Aimee (Shailene Woodley), who knows Sutter from school. Sutter starts to gather interest in Aimee, but all the while hoping to land back with the women he thinks he wants in Cassidy. Aimee has never had a boyfriend and quickly starts to fall for Sutter hard. With school ending soon, Sutter is all about the now, and has no idea what his future will hold, he never wants to grow up, because where is the fun in that?

A lot of people think that their high school years were their highest point in their life. I mean you have no worries, no responsibilities, you just live life. Everything is easier, including love because how innocent everything is. Sutter and Aimee are at that point where things start to move, college and life are in front of them making them have to make choices they never had to before. Written by Scott Neustadter and Michael Weber (500 Days of Summer) from the book by Tim Tharp, the story is a real coming of age story. I know that is a bad description, but where so many coming of age stories fail, this one soars. It is all perfectly directed by James Ponsoldt (Smashed), who set the movie in his home town of Athens, Georgia, and even shot the film in locations he grew up in. It all comes together by the flawless performances by Woodley and Teller who are perfect for each other on screen. I sometimes think what it would be like to grow up in this day and age, well I think I just got to see what life is like today and like this movie it looks spectacular.

Brian Taylor

http://the2cinemen.blogspot.com/

A high school romance between an alcoholic, party boy and a more reserved, shy, girl. This movie did an exceptional job of hitting reality. Everything about this movie was believable, and all the actors fit their roles. This movie had a similar feel in style to Ruby Sparks, in that at the heart it was a romance, but there was a lot more too it. Family drama, fear of the future, alcohol, and even friend drama were all in this, just like most teens experience.

In a Q&A afterwords an audience member asked why this was such a idealistic school, and why it didn't have any bullying and the truth is, because even though those exist, most schools don't have a serious problem with it.

Another audience member said they didn't recognize anyone in the movie, and that the lack of makeup made it feel more real. While the lack of makeup is true, this movie has quite the cast list.

I love Miles and Shailene. I also love the start and intro to their story. My second time watching it I said to myself "how is this not my favorite romance movie?" After about 30-45 mins in though it just gets worse and worse. It's more of a super realistic romance, than fairytale ones that are in most romantic movies. Towards the end it also starts to stray away from their love story and turns into a characters battle with themself. Almost like an entire different movie. I just kept losing the spark and interest as the movie went on. I'd say it's a movie about a high schoolers struggles with life more than a romance film.