It’s rare to find a teen movie that actually treats teens like real people with real problems and real emotions. So often these films peddle juvenile humor and exaggerated stereotypes in place of stronger and meatier stories. That’s why it’s refreshing to find a movie like “The Spectacular Now”. This intelligent and nuanced coming-of-age story steers clear of cliches and gimmickry by respecting its characters and portraying their circumstances in a thoughtful and naturalistic way.
Miles Teller plays Sutter Keely, a popular and hard-partying high school senior. He has a hot girlfriend, a great personality, and no real ambition for the future. Sutter tells several people he lives in the now, not worrying about anything other than the moment. But that attitude proves to be destructive – something he can’t see through his fog of hedonism. His girlfriend Cassidy (Brie Larson) finally has enough and breaks up with him. He is warned by a concerned teacher that he may not have the grades to graduate. And his constant drinking becomes a growing concern. Sutter’s life “in the now” isn’t the happy, sunshiny place he projects. It’s just a facade to hide the truth of a troubled and conflicted life.
Sutter’s life takes an unexpected turn when he meets Aimee (Shailene Woodley). She’s a shy and studious ‘good girl’ whose reserved lifestyle is in stark contrast to Sutter’s. The two opposites hit it off but it takes some time for their relationship to blossom. But several of Sutter’s issues get in the way – his ego, his ‘cool guy’ reputation, his fixation on old flame Cassidy, and his self-destructive behavior. We never really know how Sutter and Aimee’s relationship will turn out. The film doesn’t lay out a standard formulaic plot line and a big part of its success is the experience we have watching this authentic relationship play out.
The story is also helped by some nice performances by the two leads. Teller and Woodley have noticeably different acting styles yet they seem to gel nicely with these two characters. For Teller this film is wedged in between two run-of-the-mill raunchy comedies so I was pleasantly surprised at his work here. Woodley’s nice performance is no surprise. Her film debut in Alexander Payne’s “The Descendants” received rave reviews and here she delivers another eye-catching performance. The supporting work is also uniformly good. Larson, Jennifer Jason Leigh, Mary Elizabeth Winstead, and especially Kyle Chandler each have some strong screen time.
One of the interesting things about “The Spectacular Now” is how it employs several familiar plot points, but it treats each of them with a fresh and prudent sincerity. There are moments where you can guess how certain things will play out, but the film also steadily surprised me by not going the conventional route. More importantly it is all grounded in a realistic portrayal of these two teenaged characters which separates this film from the bulk of teen pictures we get. That alone is something I welcomed with opened arms.
Keith & the Movies 
Sounds like something good to see, Keith.
Definitely worth a watch my friend. Quite a surprise.
Good to know! I shall watch it with my daughter. I bet we’ll both enjoy it. Nice review, Keith.
Thanks so much Cindy. It was such a pleasant surprise. Love seeing these movies that inject some freshness in a genre.
Hadn’t read anything about this one before but I think I’ll give it a go based on your review Keith. Sounds intriguing!
Great to hear. I don’t think it got much press. It’s a smaller film but definitely we’ll made. Check it out.
Well…plus I was sold at “Mary Elizabeth Winstead”!
Ahh yes.
It is good to read that this is not your average teen flick. The trailers did nothing to peak my interst but your review did
You’re exactly right. The trailers didn’t do the movie any favors. I think that’s why I dismissed it early on. I loved being surprised by it though.
Great review, but I can’t say I enjoyed it as much as you. I thought the car scene (that pivotal moment) was very, very cliched and kind of a cheap moment. Regardless, the acting was phenomenal, and totally changed my mind about Woodley, as I had only seen her in The Secret Life of the American Teenager… which is terrible. Maybe I need to give it another chance!
I 100% see where you’re coming from with the car scene. There are a couple of other scenes that also were that way. But I think they ended up working for me thanks to the genuineness of the two main characters and their relationship. I really felt they drove the film and made it feel somewhat fresh.
Good to know someone else feels the same way! I agree though, it was nice to see a film that captured a young relationship in an honest way.
A nice snapshot into the life of teenagers that actually deals with one aspect of humanity that most of these coming-of-agers don’t even bother touching: Failure. Good review Keith.
Thanks man. You’re right. It does seem to handle things differently which makes it feel a little different than most of these types of movies. I appreciated that.
I might just have to buy this one at some point since I missed it in theaters last year and during on demand but I know I’ve gotta watch! Very good review sir.
Thanks man. I appreciate it. It’s definitely worth checking out. It was a nice surprise for me.
This was a good movie. It had a lot of substance. 😀 Great chemistry between the lead stars Teller and Woodley too. NIce review. 😀
Thanks so much Angie! There really was a good chemistry there. And Teller surprised me. I’m usually not a big fan of his but here he is given better material and he handles it well.
Exactly. I saw him first in Divergent and hated him as Peter but I loved him in this movie. He has a natural charm about him even if he isn’t the typical heartthrob. 😀
I enjoyed The Spectacular Now for the most part. I felt like the plot was a little rocky at times, but I mostly enjoyed it, especially when Kyle Chandler was on screen (he was my favorite part of the film!). I also think it’s interesting that Miles Teller and Shailene Woodley face off and actually fight in Divergent. It’s interesting to see them to play love interests and then enemies. Nice review, Keith! Glad you enjoyed this movie too.
Kyle Chandler is always good , isn’t he? very underrated actor.
Crazy to me that he’s underrated! He’s so talented. I first saw him in Early Edition when I was younger, and ever since then, I’ve been a fan. Seems like a very humble guy. I actually watched some behind the scenes of The Spectacular Now, and apparently Chandler phoned the director after he shot his scenes and told him that he could take his scenes out if he wanted because Chandler didn’t think he had done that great of a job. Crazy!
Heard some good things about this one mate. Might give it a whirl at some point. Nice review.
Yeah it’s worth watching. It’s not a big movie or one that will become an all-time favorite of yours, but it is very entertaining.
Yeah, Woodley and Teller are phenomenal in this. Also very interesting to see Kyle Chandler as a deadbeat dad after FNL.
Thanks so much for the comments. They are good, aren’t they? And Chandler is an actor I always like watching.
Great review Keith, glad to read your praises as well. The Spectacular Now was really impressive for me. Miles Teller proves he can, in fact, act and it’s just another solid turn for Shailene Woodley. I’m really digging what she’s doing man. Really am.
She’s a strong actress. The jury is still out on Teller but he moved the needle some with this performance. Surprised and impressed.
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