James Ponsoldt’s “The Spectacular Now” is a good, little film that exists mainly to showcase two immense, young acting talents: Shailene Woodley (who came to everyone’s attention when she played George Clooney’s daughter in “The Descendants”) and Miles Teller (“Rabbit Hole,” “Project X”). The rest of film is admittedly slight and doesn’t leave you with much to remember.
Ponsoldt’s film is about teenage love; Teller plays high school senior Sutter, one of those talkie, life-of-the-party guys who gives off the illusion that he’s more popular than he really is. He’s great at socializing, but in actuality, he doesn’t seem to have that many friends. On top of that, he doesn’t really have long-term goals and ambitions.
After his girlfriend, Cassidy (Brie Larson), dumps him, he goes on an all-night partying-and-drinking binge, where he encounters Amiee (Woodley). Amiee’s the shy, good girl who likes to read and has long-term goals and dreams. So, of course, Sutter’s friends think it’s a little strange that he takes a liking to her.
And it’s important to mention that the two kids have baggage pertaining to their parents: Sutter is distant with his mom and doesn’t even know where his dad is; Amiee’s dad committed suicide so she helps her mom with work and bills.
While not angsty and rebellious as she was in “The Descendants,” Woodley turns in a perfectly sweet performance as Amiee — everything from her awkward laughs to the matter-of-fact way she recites her lines. Teller is just as natural, the sarcastic comments flowing smoothly out of his mouth, like a teenage version of Jonah Hill. But, as the movie goes on, he’s up to the task. Watching them together is like watching two real 18-year-olds in a relationship.
If only there was more for them to do. The script by Scott Neustadter and Michael H. Weber (based on the novel by Tim Tharp) simply doesn’t go deep enough in growing the characters and the relationship. We do learn a little more about Sutter and his problems (he eventually tracks down his deadbeat father), but Amiee is left largely unexplored.
In addition, the script offers little in the way of surprises. The whole movie is just one big…sigh.
Ponsoldt’s previous feature was “Smashed,” with Mary Elizabeth Winstead as an alcoholic teacher trying to beat the habit; “The Spectacular Now” also deals with alcoholism (Sutter likes to drink, not just at parties but also during a normal day, and soon, it rubs off on Amiee), but in a surprisingly subtle way. At first, it just comes off as normal and casual teenage behavior; then it gradually becomes more and more noticeable and problematic.
Oobviously, this is meant to give the story some serious weight and edge, but Ponsoldt goes soft and so it comes off as gimmicky.
In the end, “The Spectacular Now” earns major points because of the actors; without them, people wouldn’t even talk about the movie (it was warmly received at the 2013 Sundance Film Festival and has been getting mostly rave reviews since), but the movie on a whole feels too safe and trivial to make a lasting impact. As for Teller and Woodley, though, they’ve got bright acting futures ahead of them.
To comment on this review, write to QAMagNews@nwlink.com.
[[In-content Ad]]