THE SPECTACULAR NOW
What a spectacular movie. See what I did there? Hi-larious. The trailer and poster do this movie absolutely no justice. On the surface, The Spectacular Now looked like your run-of-the-mill sappy love story between two stupid kids. You've got the popular bro who just doesn't give a shoot about school or life cuz he’s just sooo chill and the nerdy quiet chick who’s actually hot (pony tails don’t fool me). Of course, popular man doesn't even know she exists until he wakes up drunk on her lawn after a night of raging with his bros. Totes bullshit, right? I would agree except this movie takes those circumstances and make them real as fuck. Face.
Sutter, the male lead played by Miles Teller (prepare to see a lot of this kid in the future), is NOT your typical popular high school dick bag. He doesn't play sports. He isn't a gifted genius struggling to decide between Ivy League schools nor is he some retard who can barely read (although he does struggle in Math). Sutter is sort of like that guy you knew in high school who was at every party and whose drunken antics everyone loved, but deep down you pitied him. That alone makes this movie different. I don’t need to see the super amazing misunderstood jock nor do I need to see the poor bullied emo kid. That’s been done too much. I want to see Sutter.
Sutter and Aimee
Aimee (female lead) is played by Shailene Woodley, who you may know from The Descendants. You know right away that she's definitely a nerd because she’s into anime. Other than the anime, she’s completely relatable. Yeah, she was quiet, but she wasn't a victim of the “pretty girls”…high school bullying is so extreme in movies. She had friends! She was smart but not Harvard or Yale smart. Why do so many high school kids in movies go on to Ivy League school? It’s so annoying! That is such a small percentage of the population! Just saying people.
While the characters are simple and believable, they are also super-duper deep. Like, dig a hole to China deep. Never have I seen teenage alcoholism and dependency portrayed better on screen. Shit man, this movie is tough to get through at times. Both characters have absent fathers and a history of addiction in their family which equals a bad time. It feels like the characters are each other’s worst enemy, and at the same time, only positive escape. The only beef I have with this movie is the ending. Not terrible, just hoping for a different outcome. I guess I’m being picky.
Score: 4/5 TIGHT (This movie was super dope)
Scoring System
5/5 SUPER TIGHT (This movie will change your life)
4/5 TIGHT (This movie was super dope)
3/5 TIGHT GARBAGE (Good movie, could have been better)
2/5 GARBAGE (This movie sucked)
1/5 RUSTY DUMPSTER (Never see this movie)
Whether you agree, disagree, or want to suggest a top ten list for me to write…Leave a comment.