The Spectacular Now Information

The Spectacular Now is an American comedy-drama film directed by James Ponsoldt, written by Scott Neustadter and Michael H. Weber (based on the book of the same name by Tim Tharp), and starring Miles Teller and Shailene Woodley. The film premiered at the 2013 Sundance Film Festival, where it garnered critical acclaim. It was released in theaters on August 2, 2013.

Synopsis

Sutter Keely (Miles Teller) is a hedonistic and charming high school senior who prides himself on living in the now. With poor grades and no plans for the future, he spends much of his time drinking and attending parties. His girlfriend, Cassidy, is unable to cope with his budding alcoholism or lack of ambition, and dumps him. Binge drinking to numb his pain, Sutter is woken up on a stranger's lawn by Aimee Finecky (Shailene Woodley), a nice girl who wears no makeup and reads science fiction and manga during her free time. Sutter helps her with her paper route, and ultimately invites her to have lunch with him.

Sutter, struggling with geometry, asks Aimee to tutor him, ultimately doing so in order to get closer with her. He invites her to a party, but temporarily loses interest when he sees Cassidy and asks her to have a drink with him. Cassidy soon leaves with her boyfriend, Marcus, and Sutter redirects his attention to Aimee. He introduces her to alcohol, and the two go for a walk. During the walk, Aimee brings up getting accepted into college in Philadelphia, but does not feel as though she will be able to go because she must take care of her mother. Sutter teaches Aimee to stand up to her mom, and the two kiss. When he wakes up the next morning, Sutter realizes that he asked Aimee to prom while drunk, and instant messages Cassidy to hang out. Cassidy breaks down, tearfully telling Sutter that she can no longer avoid her future and that she needs to grow up, even if he does not.

Sutter and Aimee begin to form a deeper relationship, making love for the first time. For Prom, Sutter buys Aimee a flask, and despite a moment where Sutter dances with Cassidy, their night goes well. She tells him that she stood up to her mom and is going to Philadelphia, inviting him to live with her and attend a Junior College. Sutter mindlessly agrees.

Sutter, after numerous attempts to get his absentee father's phone number from his mom, receives it from his affluent sister, Holly, and plans to spend a day with his dad. He brings Aimee with him, and they meet him at a motel just as he is leaving for the bar and invites the two to join him. Sutter's father shares similar hedonistic views of life as Sutter, but after leaving to go off with a woman, Sutter is forced to pay the tab and wait for his dad to return. After hours, the two drive home. Angry, drunk, and afraid, Sutter snaps at Aimee when she attempts to comfort him, confessing her love for him. Considering himself a threat to her well-being, Sutter forces Aimee to get out of the car, and she is hit by a passing truck.

Aimee comes out of the accident with only a broken arm, and quickly forgives Sutter for the incident. Sutter, however, has clearly been damaged by his experiences with his father, and his drinking only worsens. His boss, Dan (Bob Odenkirk) tells him that he will be letting go of one of his clerks. He informs Sutter that he wants him to work at the store, but Sutter must promise never to come in intoxicated again. Sutter honestly states that he does not feel his is capable of keeping such a promise and shakes a disappointed and concerned Dan's hand. He then goes out for a night at the bar, leaving Aimee to get on the bus to Philadelphia by herself, heartbroken. Sutter crashes into his mailbox after a night of heavy drinking and tearfully breaks down in front of his mom, saying he is exactly like his father and that he is an awful person. Finally able to recognize that he is his own greatest limitation, Sutter commits himself to becoming a more mature and responsible person. He drives to Philadelphia and finds Aimee as she is leaving class. Aimee looks at him, and begins to smile.

Cast

• Miles Teller as Sutter Keely
• Shailene Woodley as Aimee Finecky
• Brie Larson as Cassidy
• Dayo Okeniyi as Marcus
• Jennifer Jason Leigh as Sara Keely
• Mary Elizabeth Winstead as Holly Keely
• Kyle Chandler as Tommy Keely
• Andre Royo as Mr. Aster
• Bob Odenkirk as Dan
• Kaitlyn Dever as Krystal
• Masam Holden as Ricky
• Gary Weeks as Joe
• Whitney Goin as Mrs. Finecky
• Nicci Faires as Tara

Production

Principal photography started in Athens, Georgia in July 2012 and wrapped a month later. While the novel is set in Oklahoma, director James Ponsoldt preferred to shoot in his hometown; he explained: "The script didn't identify where it was set " the setting just wasn't a big city. It felt vaguely suburban " or kind of like a college town. It seemed to me that the script had a sense of place in the way that Breaking Away did. Athens was such an obvious candidate as a setting to shoot the film in " and it was really the only place I wanted to make the film. Filming in Athens was incredibly meaningful to me. We shot in the streets and houses of my childhood!"

Reception

Box office

The film was released in theaters on August 2, 2013. As of October 16, 2013, the film has grossed $6,785,569 in the United States and Canada, against an estimated budget of $2.5 million.

Critical reception

The film was warmly received at the 2013 Sundance Film Festival. Based on over 123 professional reviews, it obtained a "Certified Fresh" seal on Rotten Tomatoes with an approval rating of 91% and an average score of 7.8/10. The critical consensus describes the film as "an adroit, sensitive film that avoids typical coming-of-age story trappings."

At Metacritic, which assigns a normalized rating out of 100 to reviews from mainstream critics, the film has received "universal acclaim" with an average score of 82% based on 41 reviews.

Response among the critics was overwhelmingly positive. Film critic Richard Roeper of the Chicago Sun-Times gave the film four stars out of four. He described the film as "the best American movie of the year so far." He singled out the 'brilliant' performance of Shailene Woodley and summarized his review by adding, "...The Spectacular Now will bring you back to that time in your life when you were trying to soak in every moment, because everyone told you there's nothing better than your last year in high school."

In The Hollywood Reporter, critic Todd McCarthy called the movie "a sincere, refreshingly unaffected look at teenagers and their attitudes about the future...Ordinary in some ways and extraordinary in others, The Spectacular Now benefits from an exceptional feel for its main characters on the parts of the director and lead actors."

Dana Stevens of Slate also praised both the leads commenting "Miles Teller and Shailene Woodley have such a disarmingly direct and spontaneous connection as actors that Sutter and Aimee almost immediately come to seem like a couple you've known (or been part of) at some point in your life...The Spectacular Now captures the beauty and scariness and lacerating intensity of first love..."

Entertainment Weekly critic Owen Gleiberman described it as "one of the rare truly soulful and authentic teen movies...". He compared it favourably to The Perks of Being a Wallflower and Say Anything saying "Like them, it's a movie about the experience of being caught on the cusp and truly not knowing which way you'll land."

In Variety, critic Rob Nelson wrote, "The scars and blemishes on the faces of the high-school lovers in 'The Spectacular Now' are beautifully emblematic of director James Ponsoldt's bid to bring the American teen movie back to some semblance of reality, a bid that pays off spectacularly indeed."

Cinema Blend called it "the rare Sundance coming-of-age story that feels like it matters," adding, "The Spectacular Now is an instant MVP of the first half of the festival, with potential breakout hit written all over it...you'll be hearing a lot about this one down the road, and it's got the goods to live up to the hype."

Spin called the film, "The next great teen movie."

Accolades

At the 2013 Sundance Film Festival, The Spectacular Now received the Special Jury Award for Acting.