The Spectacular Now is a film with great potential that is ultimately unfulfilled. The acting is excellent, especially Shailene Woodley's performance as Aimee, and there are moments that are truly exceptional. The scene where Sutter (played by Miles Teller) and Aimee are throwing newspapers together shortly after meeting feels genuine and provides a believable premise for how these two very different people begin to develop a bond. And the lovemaking scene between them is a wonderfully genuine and poignant depiction of the awkward but tender side of teenage sexuality, free from the typical gratuitous nudity or crude jokes.
The film has major shortcomings, though. Too much is told rather than being shown, and Sutter's character never really seems to grow. We are told at the end of the film as he is rewriting his college essay that he now suddenly gets it all and intends to change, but he also quits his job because he can't promise not to come to work "loaded" and crashes his car into his own mailbox while driving drunk shortly before he has this supposed breakthrough. The scene where his mother is telling him how different he is from his father and how he has such a big heart would ring a lot truer if we had seen some of this heart during the preceding 90 minutes of the film. Instead, we are left with his mother telling us at the end of the film about the kind and generous things he did in the third grade instead of being able to witness any sort of similar kindness and generosity in Sutter's behavior. It would take a miraculous leap for the viewer to believe Sutter has really changed to any material extent when he shows up at Aimee's college at the end of the film.
Shailene Woodley's Aimee is genuine and lovable, but the viewer can't help but feel she is being sucked into Sutter's destructive and self-centered world and worry for her for the consequences. Aimee's mother supposedly wants to hold her back from leaving home and going to college, even though we never meet this mother and never see the dynamic of this relationship. Perhaps the one arguably positive thing Sutter does for Aimee in the entire story is to encourage her to stand up to her mother about going to college and pursuing her own life, but again, we never see any of this transpire and are only told what happens.
There were several lost opportunities in the film to show the audience growth in Sutter's character that would have been much more effective than his telling us in his essay. If the filmmakers really want the audience to believe Sutter has learned something and grown in a meaningful way, some indication that he had acknowledged and was prepared to address his alcoholism is critical. And if we are to believe that he actually loves Aimee, and not just that she is his next best girlfriend option for now after being dumped by Cassidy, we needed to see him demonstrate that love by something more than just giving her a hip flask or showing up at her college at the end.
Overall, the film is not an unpleasant experience, and the performances are quite good, but one can't help but feel there was a lost opportunity here for this film to be much more than it is.
The film has major shortcomings, though. Too much is told rather than being shown, and Sutter's character never really seems to grow. We are told at the end of the film as he is rewriting his college essay that he now suddenly gets it all and intends to change, but he also quits his job because he can't promise not to come to work "loaded" and crashes his car into his own mailbox while driving drunk shortly before he has this supposed breakthrough. The scene where his mother is telling him how different he is from his father and how he has such a big heart would ring a lot truer if we had seen some of this heart during the preceding 90 minutes of the film. Instead, we are left with his mother telling us at the end of the film about the kind and generous things he did in the third grade instead of being able to witness any sort of similar kindness and generosity in Sutter's behavior. It would take a miraculous leap for the viewer to believe Sutter has really changed to any material extent when he shows up at Aimee's college at the end of the film.
Shailene Woodley's Aimee is genuine and lovable, but the viewer can't help but feel she is being sucked into Sutter's destructive and self-centered world and worry for her for the consequences. Aimee's mother supposedly wants to hold her back from leaving home and going to college, even though we never meet this mother and never see the dynamic of this relationship. Perhaps the one arguably positive thing Sutter does for Aimee in the entire story is to encourage her to stand up to her mother about going to college and pursuing her own life, but again, we never see any of this transpire and are only told what happens.
There were several lost opportunities in the film to show the audience growth in Sutter's character that would have been much more effective than his telling us in his essay. If the filmmakers really want the audience to believe Sutter has learned something and grown in a meaningful way, some indication that he had acknowledged and was prepared to address his alcoholism is critical. And if we are to believe that he actually loves Aimee, and not just that she is his next best girlfriend option for now after being dumped by Cassidy, we needed to see him demonstrate that love by something more than just giving her a hip flask or showing up at her college at the end.
Overall, the film is not an unpleasant experience, and the performances are quite good, but one can't help but feel there was a lost opportunity here for this film to be much more than it is.