The Spectacular Now (James Ponsoldt)

[Ezee E]

http://youngadulthollywood.com/wp-content/uploads/2013/06/The-Spectacular-Now-693x1024.jpg


IMDB (http://www.imdb.com/title/tt1714206/?ref_=fn_al_tt_1)

[Ezee E]

This could very well be a surprise of the year for me.

Here's a teen drama that doesn't oversaturate it's dialog, follow cliche storypaths, have stereotypical secondary characters, or the "indie" music that has plagued a lot of this decade's teen movies. This one works. The two main performances are top-notch, especially Shailene Woodley.

I was pretty wowed by this.

NEGATIVE PART - Not enough Odenkirk

I saw this on a whim to essentially avoid anything Breaking Bad spoilery... Glad I went.

[number8]

Ponsoldt's directing made this, because the script is certainly filled with some heavy handed missteps and that killed 500 Days of Summer. Great decision to let the more improvised exchanges in the dialogue to steamroll all over the more cute and obvious lines. This is the authentic teen movie of the year so far, definitely, not that Way Way Back bullshit.

The ending is the weirdest part. It feels both earned and a copout at the same time.

[Ezee E]

The ending is the weirdest part. It feels both earned and a copout at the same time.

Yeah, it kind of stops it from being four stars to me after thinking about it. I guess in that particular time period, it's a perfect end to the character's arc, with the beginning of something new...

But... to me?

He was right. She forgot about him three months later, and was already dating someone, :lol:

[number8]

By the way, it's interesting that the supporting cast all comes from critically acclaimed TV shows about very specific American towns. Breaking Bad, Justified, The Wire, Friday Night Lights, Revenge.

[Izzy Black]

Worth seeing for Shailene Woodley. Otherwise, pretty predictable plotting, even if slightly more mature writing than what you usually get from this kind of film.

[Watashi]

Shailene Woodley is incredible in this. So is Miles Teller.

I don't really like the final shot even if it's ambigious.

[Ezee E]

Shailene Woodley is incredible in this. So is Miles Teller.

I don't really like the final shot even if it's ambigious.

Exactly. I guess it makes it more uplifting, but I still feel that was even achieved by seeing him drive to wherever he could have been driving to...

[number8]

Exactly. I guess it makes it more uplifting, but I still feel that was even achieved by seeing him drive to wherever he could have been driving to...

This is very similar to Inception's ending, actually. Especially the school of thought saying that if it ended with Leo just spinning the top, then it would have been just as ambiguous of an ending, but something that feels natural rather than blatantly inviting the audience to guess. It would just leave some people not questioning the reality of the world, but some people thinking about it further would see that as a clue.

With this, that last shot is like the prolonged spinning: it's deliberately a suspended moment to coax the audience to guess what's between them. Something like him walking up the steps and us never seeing her reaction would've had the same effect, and not feel as taunting.

[wigwam]

:|

[Izzy Black]

Good, not great. Shailene Woodley is excellent, the Vince Vaughn-abee dude from 21 and Over is decent, their quieter happy moments are deftly directed, the best being an intensely intimate sex scene and their post-prom sneakaway staged in front of this reflecting glass backdrop that makes it really magical. I loved the flasks and the indirect allusions to addicts and addictions and co-dependency, but when it gets to the confrontation Big Moment Acting parts it sorta falls off-kilter compared to how well the rest was playing. Mary Elizabeth Winstead is really interesting in her role here when compared with her last collaboration with the director in the earlier, better movie Smashed.

http://corrierino.com/forum/images/smilies/forum_new.gif

[eternity]

I guess the bare minimum a movie like this needs to accomplish is to be even remotely authentic. I liked how quietly disturbing it was, but the third act, as good as Kyle Chandler was, misfired.

[DavidSeven]

I thought this was deftly handled and basically excellent. The film finds a distinctive tone and maintains it through the end without falling prey to twee or quirk. I liked the casting and thought the film was frequently funny, thoroughly engaging and occasionally moving. It’s not the most ambitious project in the world, but it excels at what it wants to be. I’d absolutely consider it one of the better teen films of its type.

[Pop Trash]

I thought this was deftly handled and basically excellent. The film finds a distinctive tone and maintains it through the end without falling prey to twee or quirk. I liked the casting and thought the film was frequently funny, thoroughly engaging and occasionally moving. It’s not the most ambitious project in the world, but it excels at what it wants to be. I’d absolutely consider it one of the better teen films of its type.

I basically agree with this. I think the only reason I didn't like it more is stemming from a detachment from contemporary teenagers. That said, I found this to be incredibly generous to its actors even when it's riffing on Say Anything... and All the Real Girls (not that that's a bad thing).

[Pop Trash]

Ebert also reviewed this right before he died and gave it four stars. Interesting since as I was watching it I thought "Rog would have liked this" being a big fan of Say Anything... as well.

http://www.rogerebert.com/reviews/the-spectacular-now-2013

[plain]

This is all pretty decent for a while but comes to a screeching halt once Kyle Chandler enters the film. More "sins of the father" heavy handedness that is really transparent and obvious. Teller and Woodley are actually really good and carry the film for the most part, but again, it feels like one glossed over sketch instead of a fully realized teen drama. Could have used another 15-20 minutes.

[Pop Trash]

This is all pretty decent for a while but comes to a screeching halt once Kyle Chandler enters the film. More "sins of the father" heavy handedness that is really transparent and obvious.

I liked that they didn't make Chandler's character some terrible asshole though (something that even You Can Count on Me -a film I really like- fell victim to). There was no big verbal blowout between them. Sutter merely drives up to the bar, watches his dad through the window, then decides to drive away and that's that. Pretty subtle visual storytelling. Plus that slight shift of "Sutter is just a good time high school party boy" to "Sutter is a budding alcoholic" is handled well w/o any didactic dialogue.

[number8]

Yeah, the alcoholism was handled superbly. Notice that no one ever judged him for it. Bob Odenkirk did confront him about it, but it was more a plea to be professional than to lecture him about it.

[Winston*]

Yeah, the alcoholism was handled superbly. Notice that no one ever judged him for it. Bob Odenkirk did confront him about it, but it was more a plea to be professional than to lecture him about it.

+ the steady influence of his alcoholism on her. Not drinking at the party to hip flasking at graduation.

[Henry Gale]

Man... Woodley is just a dream in this.

Otherwise, my feelings are basically an amalgamation of everything that's already been said here: Really strongly acted, solidly directed, takes some turns I'm not sure about towards the end, including the kinda awkward and slight ending, but handles its core elements (particularly its relationships and alcoholism stuff) extremely believably and subtly and generally holds itself together nicely enough to come away impressed.

And yeah, if there's a word better than perfection to describe someone then apply it to Shailene here kthxbye gotta tend to melted heart

[Mal]

Shit.
When Sutter is hugging his mom and telling him that he loves everyone, you can tell he knows in that moment how much of a piece of shit he is.

Breezy, grounded film that takes seasoned material and makes it feel fresh, new, exciting.

[dreamdead]

Interesting that I am almost alone in dissenting on this one. Didn't realize that it was based on a novel, but I spent this whole film wanting more coverage of Woodley's descent into Sutter's mindset. I didn't need the film to demonize his transgressions in alcoholism, but she basically seemed to have her life together and the fact that the film glosses over any collateral damage from her friends as they see her attraction to Sutter grow feels off.

The film is basically Sutter's story and about his p.o.v., but there is a richer (and more original) discussion being skirted in the film's reliance on his arc. Loved seeing all the supporting cast, but felt that Sutter isn't the most interesting aspect here and that Woodley's character is relegated to a secondary character after the first act in a way that diminishes her response.

[Qrazy]

I thought this film was very economically shot. I really liked Jess Hall's work here, lots of deep blacks. Agreed with most others about the narrative, stumbles a bit near the end but overall the film feels genuine.

[Grouchy]

Surprisingly good stuff. I really liked the deliberate pace and (like Qrazy points out) the cinematography.

Everyone in the cast deserves our kind words, notably the two leads, but I really like that Andre Royo and Bob Odenkirk have very minimal roles (no more than two scenes each) and they both make wonders with them.