Review of The Spectacular Now (2013) by Dan S — 20 Jan 2014

A touching, unexpected breath of fresh air "coming of age" film concerning a hard-partying high school senior (Miles Teller) who ends up falling for a nice, sweet girl (Shailene Woodley) after initially only desiring her to be his "rebound" girl after breaking up with his girlfriend (Brie Larson).

Formulaic in some respects, but the way this movie stays entertaining and likable is how it captures how young people talk nowadays, kind of like Apatow dialogue only geared for teens. The actors, specifically Teller and Woodley, are just phenomenal in playing troubled individuals who want to focus on the present and not worry about the future.

The way this film ends is an extremely clever move by director James Ponsoldt, I really wish more films would have the balls to go for a gutsy ambiguous, open-ended finale like he does here, as it makes the finished product all the more memorable and admirable.