High school is a time in every student’s life where they get to experience and enjoy being young and adventurous before moving on to the real world. Sometimes it’s hard to want to move on and begin another step in your life when the one you’re living is so spectacular. That’s when you realize even though you could probably get away with it, everyone else around you is changing and you yourself are stuck trying to live in the now.
The Spectacular Now follows a teen by the name of Sutter Keely, a popular high school senior who has it all: a part-time job, a beautiful girlfriend, and the persona of living in the moment, not in a constant change. One morning after being dumped by his girlfriend, Sutter meets a girl by the name of Aimee Finecky. Aimee, who just happens to be in the same class as Sutter, is the complete opposite of him, liking everything Sutter doesn’t. After a few conversations between the two, love starts to form and Sutter is back to having his perfect life. However, everything isn’t what it seems to be for the senior who supposedly has nothing wrong in his life. Overcoming these obstacles and doing so with a person who makes you feel good about yourself is all it takes to surpass that fear of losing everything.
The film has a little “A Walk to Remember” feel to it. A popular boy, talking to a non-popular girl in a high school setting where people are judged on a regular basis is sometimes what audiences like to see because it’s bold and fulfilling.
Although it’s more of a lighter tone in this film, the high school cliques are a big deal in today’s society. The film, which mainly focuses on both Sutter and Aimee and how they react to each other, best describes the feeling we all want, finding that true special someone. Because it’s a romantic comedy, the two characters have to form a close relationship as actors so we the audience can understand the full affect one has on the other, even with the touchy sex scene between the two. The director, James Ponsoldt, did a great job of showing us that these are two people who although may be taking things slow and steady, show passion and ambition when showing something so breath-taking.
Towards the end of the film, the feeling becomes more saddened and distraught because you’re not seeing what you want to see. The genre is romance/comedy and does a good job in making you laugh as well as making you cry. If there’s anything wrong with the film, it’s the time between scenes. More towards the middle, it’s hard to tell when or how long a scene is taking place after another. We just have to assume that the time between scenes is short and the next shot-taking place is the beginning/end result of what we just witnessed. Feel that in every romance film, we the audience want a happy or resolved ending. Unfortunately, we have to put up with the awkward song and last look between the characters before asking the question, “Why couldn’t they have done this? It would have made it so much better.”
The good news is, I expected everything to be well-worded and filmed upon seeing this film. In the end, I was very satisfied with the direction, dialogue, census, and overall outcome of events. Without change, we’d all be living in the spectacular now, instead of the unexpected future.
