In many ways, Sutter (Miles Teller) is a typical teen boy; he’s interested in drinking, partying, getting laid. He’s into himself. He lives in the now, The Spectacular Now. We know this because he told us. We see him filling out a college application in the opening moments; he must care about his future, right? Unlike many teen boys, Sutter has already developed an alcohol dependency, a dead-end job, and no discernible reason to do anything BUT party. Also, unlike many teen boys, for all his me-first behavior, he’s not a sociopath. That’s important; I don’t want to root for a sociopath.
In the wake of a dumping at the hands of Cassidy (Brie Larson), Sutter starts a day waking up hungover on somebody’s lawn. You know, a Robert Downey Jr. Waking him with a nudge is fellow high school senior Aimee (Shailene Woodley). She knows Sutter; everybody knows Sutter. He’s the life of the party. He needs to know where his car is. She has a paper route. Tada! An awkward alliance … and then dating? Aimee is sweet, but a bit plain and a novice to relationships. She also has a future, having been accept to college at “Philadelphia.” (Which college in Philadelphia? Film doesn’t say.
Perhaps the city has been turned into one big college.) Meanwhile, Sutter is constantly looking for the better deal (in this case, Cassidy). This is going to end badly, isn’t it?
Against my better judgment, I enjoyed Sutter. I found it endearing when he gifts a flask to Aimee. Awwww, isn’t that sweet; he’s sharing his terrible drinking problem. Of course, I kept saying, “he’s gonna hurt her he’s gonna hurt her he’s gonna hurt her. I don’t want to see her get hurt.” And then something very funny happens: Sutter grows. He endears. Sutter himself knows he’s going to let Aimee down. He sees the future as some sort of road for others to take. His stop is here, now. It’s probably why he also doesn’t share the sociopathic streak present in so many of his peers. Fully aware of his flaws, Sutter becomes a figure of sympathy instead of scorn. And then the mantra became, “oh crap, when he lets her down, he’s gonna get hurt, too. I don’t want to see that, either.”
The Spectacular Now isn’t gonna win many awards or many fans. You probably won’t see it and on the surface you’ll say, “Why the Hell would I care about the hero?” And all of that is, somehow, correct. But it’s an intelligent and surprisingly caring film about the kind of guy Hollywood has dumped on for years.
♪College time
One more call for alcohol, so pull out your flask and jeer
College time
You don’t have to commute, but you can’t stay (in high school)
I know who I want to take me home
I know I’ve no future all alone
I just want somebody I can pwn
Or do I? ♫
Rated R, 95 Minutes
D: James Ponsoldt
W: Scott Neustadter & Michael H. Weber
Genre: Coming of middle age
Type of person most likely to enjoy this film: Futureless teens
Type of person least likely to enjoy this film: The parents who intervene to keep their prodigies away from these bozos
♪Parody inspired by “Closing Time”
