The Spectacular Now Review
RYAN: This film was written by the same guys who did (500) Days of Summer and it’s consistent in that they write such fully realized, natural relationships. The best thing about this strong dramedy is the relationships.
TIMOTHY: When it first started, I was terrified we were about to watch another American Pie. I was expecting something completely different.
RYAN: Miles Teller is certainly no Joseph Gordon-Levitt. He has a quirky/goofy quality which might have led you to think this wouldn’t be as deep as it actually is.
TIMOTHY: His character at the beginning was the stereotype of a teenage jerk and I was worried. But as the movie went on, I became more drawn into it. As he evolved as a character, so did my appreciation of the film. At one point there was an intimate moment where I almost felt like I shouldn’t even be there.
RYAN: I know! They really establish some great moments in this film that are woven together very effectively.
TIMOTHY: I almost wanted to give the actors some space when the characters were just sitting there, looking at each other.
RYAN: Totally. This movie takes you back to your first kiss and there was a fly-on-the-wall aspect to it. It’s well acted and very well written and for all that Miles’ character is flawed, he’s likable. He’s human and complex. There is a great story arc. Even when he’s a jerk, you still feel some compassion for him because of his circumstances.
TIMOTHY: Yeah. I just got so much reality from this movie in the last 90 minutes. It’s almost hard to take in. I’m glad to actually be talking about it now because had we not been, I’d be sitting, rocking back and forth on my couch all night.
RYAN: [laughs’ Well this is one of my favorite things about drama – when it’s disturbing, it can affect you and move you. At the same time, the comedic moments in this film were funny and light. It’s a well balanced dramedy.
TIMOTHY: And that’s real life.
RYAN: You’re one hundred percent right. We have to talk about Shailene Woodley. I’ve not been very much into her for all the acclaim she received playing Clooney’s daughter in The Descendants, and she was on that cheesy TV show, The Secret Life of the American Teenager, but I loved her in this. She’s so fresh and innocent and I believed her every second.
TIMOTHY: Absolutely. Everything she does in this movie is perfect, particularly every time she giggles.
RYAN: I almost thought she was improvising; she was so good.
TIMOTHY: I always wonder in this style of filmmaking: how much do they memorize every single word?
RYAN: Miles isn’t the cutest leading man and they really made Shailene look as plain as possible for this role.
TIMOTHY: But everyone in the film had closeups without makeup. I spent half the film looking into people’s pores.
RYAN: However, Jennifer Jason Leigh is Botoxed within an inch of her life! Not only her foreheard and eyebrows, but it looked like her entire face didn’t move. Even Nicky Kidman doesn’t do that much Botox.
TIMOTHY: I agree. There’s something about that lack of care though, that maybe worked for the role. It was her entire face.
RYAN: And Kyle Chandler is in this, best known from TV’s Friday Night Lights. He’s good but still looked a bit too attractive for this role. He needed a beer-belly or something.
TIMOTHY: I was actually imagining how great he would look in a suit.
RYAN: See? They should have made him a bit dowdier but he was still effective. Another strength of the film is that it’s not predictable.
TIMOTHY: Right and you keep thinking you know where it’s going. I had a pre-cliche-tightness in this film but then it surprised me.
RYAN: I love that it kept us guessing.
TIMOTHY: This was a good director. I would have loved to have been on this set to see how much was scripted versus artist collaboration.
RYAN: Because there are so many layers to this film. There is innuendo and so much implied, even just beyond the spoken words.
TIMOTHY: …the detail. There are subtleties.
RYAN: I loved the score in this movie. I even leaned over to you during the film to call it out.
TIMOTHY: It might be a good film for parents to view with their teenagers.
RYAN: Well it is rated R and racy at times, but it certainly does bring up interesting themes about relationships, family and substance abuse… It could open some dialogue if teens are mature enough to handle it.
TIMOTHY: It’s good drama and comedy without ever having to go too extreme in one direction or the other.
RYAN: It is like a bit of real life captured – there are ups and downs. It’s sometimes painful to watch what these characters are going through but other times funny. It’s strong entertainment.
