Studio-Provided Plot Synopsis: With sly humor and an intensity of feeling, The Spectacular Now (directed by James Ponsoldt) creates a vivid, three-dimensional portrait of youth confronting the funny, thrilling and perilous business of modern love and adulthood. This is the tale of Sutter Keely (Miles Teller), a high school senior and effortless charmer, and of how he unexpectedly falls in love with “the good girl” Aimee Finecky (Shailene Woodley). What starts as an unlikely romance becomes a sharp-eyed, straight-up snapshot of the heady confusion and haunting passion of youth – one that doesn’t look for tidy truths. The film was written by Scott Neustadter and Michael Weber [(500) Days of Summer] and also features wonderful supporting turns from Brie Larson, Kyle Chandler, Jennifer Jason Leigh, and Mary Elizabeth Winstead.
My Thoughts: That the film comes from the screenwriting pair who wrote (500) Days of Summer is no surprise – there are a lot of similarities between the two films. I think it worked better the first time, but The Spectacular Now is no slouch. The chemistry between Teller and Woodley drives the film. It’s easy to buy each of them in their roles. That extends to the supporting cast, including a nasty turn by Chandler as Sutter’s long-gone father. My one complaint: I didn’t care for the ending. I felt it was a bit too abrupt and unnecessary. Either extending the scene or not including it at all would’ve been better options.
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