Plot
A hard-partying high school senior's philosophy on life changes when he meets the not-so-typical "nice girl."
Release Year: 2013
Rating: 6.8/10 (555 voted)
Director:James Ponsoldt
Storyline
Sutter Keely lives in the now. It's a good place for him. A high school senior, charming and self-possessed, he's the life of the party, loves his job at a men's clothing store, and has no plans for the future. A budding alcoholic, he's never far from his supersized, whiskey-fortified thirst-master cup. But after being dumped by his girlfriend, Sutter gets drunk and wakes up on a lawn with Aimee Finicky hovering over him. She's different: the "nice girl" who reads science fiction and doesn't have a boyfriend. While Amy has dreams of a future, Sutter lives in the impressive delusion of a spectacular now, yet somehow, they're drawn together.
Trivia: Nicholas Hoult was considered for the lead role before Miles Teller was cast. See more »
User Review
Author:
Rating: 10/10
The Spectacular Now is a surprisingly good film. The acting is great
from the two leads, as they make their characters extremely likable.
This amazing, (and at times seemingly unscripted), acting keeps the
mature and occasionally dark screenplay from alienating viewers with
it's harsh and unrelenting look at alcoholism. Several moments will
have you almost pitying the main characters, as one has a serious
drinking problem that often gets the better of him, while the other is
at times unreasonably kind and forgiving. These flawed characters
elevate the film above a level of just average teenage drama and in to
a superb melodrama. Shailene Woodley and Miles Teller both won a
well-deserved award at Sundance for their great chemistry. The script
really gives these great characters a couple of brilliant scenes.
They're all very well written and directed and get a lot of credit for
avoiding the conventional scenes that every teenage movie in recent
memory has been chock full of. But, in the end, it all comes back to
that excellent dialog and chemistry between the two exceptional leads.
I don't know if there are any Oscars coming, (although I would be just
fine with that), but there will definitely be loads of accolades and
critical acclaim for these two outstanding actors.
0