The Spectacular Now (2013)

The Spectacular Now tells the story of Sutter Keely, a popular hard-partying high school senior, and his quest to live in the "now." He doesn't have plans for the future, and frankly, he doesn't care. After being dumped by his girlfriend, he meets Aimme Finicky, "the nice girl" and things start to change.

Sutter (Miles Teller) doesn't want to grow up, he wants to continue living his life in the same way he always has. He's been having the time of his life for the last four years and doesn't want it to stop. Aimme (Shailene Woodley) is the shy nice girl that grabs Sutter's attention. She's a good student who has plans for the future.

Aimme represents something different for Sutter, and he's something different for her. At first glance, they're complete opposites, but they're drawn together. For Aimme, it's her first romance, and it's fascinating to watch.

  
The film is filled with great performances, including a small role from Kyle Chandler as Sutter's estranged father. But Miles Teller and Shailene Woodley shine. They both deliver knockout performances.

Woodley received a lot of attention for playing George Clooney's daughter in The Descesendants, but she shows she can handle her own here. Teller surprised me. He delivers the performance of his young career so far. These are star making performances by these young actors.

The Spectacular Now is a, well, spectacular coming of age story.  We really get a sense of what these characters are going through and it all seems genuine and real. It captures what it's truly like to be a high school senior. It's the point in our lives where we need to stop being a kid and start growing up. It's a major turning point in life when the future becomes the now. The Spectacular Now highlights this phase of life better than I've seen in while.

The Spectacular Now is a sweet, genuine, funny, romantic, heartbreaking, and uplifting story. It highlights all the hardships and heartbreak and happiness that comes with high school and relationships. The Spectacular Now is one of the best films of the year so far.

(8/10)