Review of The Spectacular Now (2013) by Bob R — 19 Dec 2013

The Spectacular Now follows the young Sutter Keely (played by Miles Teller) through his final year of high school bouncing back from a break up and right into a relationship with the stereotypical nice innocent girl. Sutter is a confident guy, who takes pride in his job, car, and beautiful woman. Although he sports the confidence and the idea of living 'in the now', he seems to feel lost along the way. He drinks at parties, but drinks pretty much all the time regardless. He's missing his father from his life, but figures there's more to that situation than his stand-offish mother tells him. The Spectacular Now ultimately narrates Sutter's transformation from teen into adult as hard times with his girlfriend, father, and his own self come crashing down on his life.

What Impressed me most with The Spectacular Now is how real this movie feels. The dialogue feels real. The people feel like real people. This coming of age story is not made for movies. This feels like real life, and it's impressive whenever a director can make you feel like your peering into someone's real life. However, this can work against it. With how real it feels, it can get a bit boring. The movie is short, but moves at a turtle's pace. It's slow, but at the same time feels real, authentic, and benefits from awesome chemistry between Miles Teller and Shailene Woodley.

The Spectacular Now suffers from a slow, slow pace, but is impressive in it's ability to tell a deep, realistic feeling coming of age story.