Just when Hollywood is buzzing after a coming-of-age film's release, yet another one opens at a local movie theater. It seems as if this particular kind of story is immune to negative opinions because The Spectacular Now has been awarded a tremendous 93% on Rotten Tomatoes. Hmm, there must be something truly great about the film, right? Critics have been consistently praising its thematic material and, again, its coming-of-age nature. Now, first of all, I'm here to refute all that acclaim. I might be buzzkill, but I just have to point out the clear flaws of the film from an unbiased perspective.
Before we begin, The Spectacular Now is essentially a love story between two polar opposites- a party animal with drinking issues and a timid, selfless girl. Their journey of a relationship commences once Sutter (played by Miles Teller) finds himself lying on someone's front yard when he's thankfully woken up by Aimee (Shailene Woodley), and that's where it all begins. For now, let's keep everything optimistic and positive by pointing out several strong performances from the likes of Kyle Chandler to Miles Teller.
In my opinion, Miles Teller embodies a fascinating character who's riddled with countless problems, and though he seems totally fine from the outside, it's the inside that's eating him up as he continues to struggle with his inner self. Though he appears to be a complete douchebag at first, he understands it as well as you do, which obviously creates much more sympathy for his complex character. At this point, Miles Teller has been in a few party comedies already, and so, he already knows how to play that kind of character. In short, he's entirely convincing as one of the school's popular, obnoxious kids.
However, though the film has its fair share of terrific actors, it still suffers from a mediocre script, and I mean "mediocre" in the most genuine way possible. You know what the opposite of "genuine" is? This film or, at least, its rough start. What you witness is plentiful of cheesy dialogue between its two characters so much so that a whole new level of superficiality is introduced. Nothing about these two characters feels natural as they spuriously laugh and comment in the most stereotypical fashion. Honestly, I usually tend to dislike films centered around teenagers because I often struggle with relating to the characters or simply just liking the characters. Even though Aimee is introduced as the almost-innocent and kind girl, she grows fond of Sutter's lifestyle and chooses to participate in it as if the film is telling you that this is surely right.
Of course, I can't get into spoilers, and that really sucks because I can't delve into the meat of the film, but I guess I'll have to work with what I can. Aside from its characters and faulty writing, the themes present in the film have been done time and time again. Alcoholism issues? Check. Family issues? Check. Two unlikely compatible characters actually falling in love with each other? Check, check, check. I absolutely love how some critics love to pan certain films for their predictability- their predictable endings and predicable structures- but yet this film is a significant representation of a predictable story. It follows along in a fairly traditional manner, and just when something unexpected transpires, it only slightly affects the total world. Even though something incredibly painful occurs to one of the characters, they turn out fully fine after a matter of scenes. The ending is also extremely predictable and ends exactly the way you thought it would end from the very beginning. After an undeniably touching scene presents itself, an anti-climatic scene only follows a few seconds later.
Albeit the typical themes, there's that one arc again where Sutter persists in questioning his place as a human being and the damage that he's clearly causing to the people around him- that is what I found engaging and saddening. If only the film would explore more unconventional and atypical themes and concepts, then it would've delivered a far more memorable experience. To make things clearer, I did not say I ever disliked Sutter's character because he really was a fresh person- an anti-hero, so to speak. It's the stories about unbelievably flawed individuals that always fascinate me more over a generic "goody-two-shoes" hero. His inability of moving on with his life and indecisive attitude are further resonant aspects of the film's layered design.
With all that being said, The Spectacular Now isn't the "spectacular" film critics are leading you to believe because it does suffer from overly familiar themes and plot points, predictability, and unsatifisying dialogue. If you're prepared for another coming-of-age story, you could try it out, but it's definitely nothing to write home about and applaud left and right.
Before we begin, The Spectacular Now is essentially a love story between two polar opposites- a party animal with drinking issues and a timid, selfless girl. Their journey of a relationship commences once Sutter (played by Miles Teller) finds himself lying on someone's front yard when he's thankfully woken up by Aimee (Shailene Woodley), and that's where it all begins. For now, let's keep everything optimistic and positive by pointing out several strong performances from the likes of Kyle Chandler to Miles Teller.
In my opinion, Miles Teller embodies a fascinating character who's riddled with countless problems, and though he seems totally fine from the outside, it's the inside that's eating him up as he continues to struggle with his inner self. Though he appears to be a complete douchebag at first, he understands it as well as you do, which obviously creates much more sympathy for his complex character. At this point, Miles Teller has been in a few party comedies already, and so, he already knows how to play that kind of character. In short, he's entirely convincing as one of the school's popular, obnoxious kids.
However, though the film has its fair share of terrific actors, it still suffers from a mediocre script, and I mean "mediocre" in the most genuine way possible. You know what the opposite of "genuine" is? This film or, at least, its rough start. What you witness is plentiful of cheesy dialogue between its two characters so much so that a whole new level of superficiality is introduced. Nothing about these two characters feels natural as they spuriously laugh and comment in the most stereotypical fashion. Honestly, I usually tend to dislike films centered around teenagers because I often struggle with relating to the characters or simply just liking the characters. Even though Aimee is introduced as the almost-innocent and kind girl, she grows fond of Sutter's lifestyle and chooses to participate in it as if the film is telling you that this is surely right.
Of course, I can't get into spoilers, and that really sucks because I can't delve into the meat of the film, but I guess I'll have to work with what I can. Aside from its characters and faulty writing, the themes present in the film have been done time and time again. Alcoholism issues? Check. Family issues? Check. Two unlikely compatible characters actually falling in love with each other? Check, check, check. I absolutely love how some critics love to pan certain films for their predictability- their predictable endings and predicable structures- but yet this film is a significant representation of a predictable story. It follows along in a fairly traditional manner, and just when something unexpected transpires, it only slightly affects the total world. Even though something incredibly painful occurs to one of the characters, they turn out fully fine after a matter of scenes. The ending is also extremely predictable and ends exactly the way you thought it would end from the very beginning. After an undeniably touching scene presents itself, an anti-climatic scene only follows a few seconds later.
Albeit the typical themes, there's that one arc again where Sutter persists in questioning his place as a human being and the damage that he's clearly causing to the people around him- that is what I found engaging and saddening. If only the film would explore more unconventional and atypical themes and concepts, then it would've delivered a far more memorable experience. To make things clearer, I did not say I ever disliked Sutter's character because he really was a fresh person- an anti-hero, so to speak. It's the stories about unbelievably flawed individuals that always fascinate me more over a generic "goody-two-shoes" hero. His inability of moving on with his life and indecisive attitude are further resonant aspects of the film's layered design.
With all that being said, The Spectacular Now isn't the "spectacular" film critics are leading you to believe because it does suffer from overly familiar themes and plot points, predictability, and unsatifisying dialogue. If you're prepared for another coming-of-age story, you could try it out, but it's definitely nothing to write home about and applaud left and right.