Coming of Age films are showing signs of maturing. Back in the seventies and eighties, teen movies used to focus primarily on trying to get laid, smoking some weed and then trying to get laid again. There were some exceptions but for every “The Breakfast Club” John Hughes gave us there was a “Weird Science” to kick the credibility down a couple of notches.
The last couple of years there has been a paradigm shift in the genre. Movies like “The Kings of Summer,” “The Way, Way Back” and “The Perks of Being a Wallflower” (my favorite film of 2012) still take time to worry about angst and the desire for foreign sexual contact but they hit on other topics that bring the stories slamming down to reality. Molestation, parental abandonment (both emotional and physical) and violence against gays are now common plot points in these films because they are actual issues that are dealt with in the real world. These new and improved teen flicks are a welcomed trend coming out of a Hollywood that, on most other fronts, is stuck in a creative lull.
The latest addition to the list is “The Spectacular Now,” a sweet and pared down love story that hard-focuses on two kids approaching the end of high school. Sutter (Miles Teller) is a big, boisterous clown who walks the halls believing that he is the center of everyone’s world. He’s the heartbeat of every party but he attends too many of them and the shtick grows old, fast. Sutter has a drinking problem that lends to his lack of giving a shit. This drives his girlfriend away to the arms of another and Sutter is destroyed.
After a solid bender, Sutter wakes up on Aimee’s (Shailene Woodley) lawn. Aimee goes to the same school but Sutter has barely ever noticed her before. She’s a smart-type, one that can fade into the blur of the hallways between classes. There is a quick chemistry and Sutter is in full rebound mode so he begins to pursue Aimee. Of course with the drinking problem, abandonment issues and Sutter still carrying a torch for his ex, the affair is not an easy one. Chaos ensues.
“The Spectacular Now” is based on a 2010 novel by Tim Tharp. I have not read this book so I will refrain from pretending that I know a damn thing about it. It was adapted by the guys that wrote “500 Days of Summer” and they have said in recent interviews that they were, indeed, trying to make a John Hughesian movie that captures the feeling of being young and finding love. I would say that they have actually made a solid film that is a slight rip-off of “Good Will Hunting”. In fact the last fifteen minutes are almost exact to “Hunting,” as if they did a shot-for-shot remake -a la Gus Van Sant’s “Psycho”- of a Gus Van Sant film. It is this end that hurts the overall effect. It is too tidy, too easy and. with a film that seems to pride itself in its honesty. it comes across as a major misstep.
What this movie offers that is more than worth your time is some great performances from exciting new actors. Woodley is getting a lot of attention and rightfully so. She shines in the film. There are many exchanges that simply feature her and Teller walking and talking to each other (a YA “Before Sunrise”?) and they pull it off. This is wonderful follow up to her work in “The Descendants” and she is easily on the shortlist for the “next big thing” whatever that’s worth. While Woodley pulls her end of the picture, the movie belongs to Teller. He grounds the film and does not overplay the heavy parts. He’s been known for sidekick roles, playing the smartass friend in slight movies such as “21 & Over” and the reboot of “Footloose”. He has always come across as likeable. Now he is respectable.