Movie Review: The Spectacular Now

The Spectacular Now (2013)
95 minutes
Rated – R
Starring: Miles Teller, Shailene Woodley

Grade: B+

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There are rich characters and detailed conflicts in this independent coming-of-age, high school tale starring Miles Teller and Shailene Woodley. It’s always refreshing during the blockbuster season to watch movies with fully-established plots and characters that are more than just good looking or those wearing costumes. With the adapted screenplay written by Scott Neustadter and Michael H. Weber (500 Days of Summer), the film is one of the best of 2013.

Sutter (Teller) is a high school senior that we’ve all been at least acquainted with. He’s charming and lovable, but has a darkness inside of him that he keeps at a distance through the means of alcohol. After a night of drinking, he’s woken up by a high school classmate, Aimee (Woodley) because he’s passed out on her lawn. She couldn’t be more different than Sutter with her quiet and nerdy personality, but there’s something in her that Sutter immediately is drawn into.

The relationship that is formed between Sutter and Aimee is comparable to a lot of high school romances, exciting at first but difficult a few months later. But Sutter is in the driver seat of it all, and that’s a dangerous road to be traveling on, especially for Aimee. Once Sutter realizes this himself, he does his best to distance himself from her, but without her he starts to shut down completely from school, his friends, and his family.

The Spectacular Now displays a troubled teenager’s journey of finding out what he wants and when he wants it. Sutter doesn’t understand the purpose of “growing up” because every adult he’s encountered in his life is miserable (including the teacher he directly questions). He floats around school and his job always with a buzz to get through the day because to his belief, there isn’t anything more important than what’s happening at that very moment.

Miles Teller gives an outstanding performance as a teenager with everything to lose because of a few bad eggs in his life. His co-star, Shailene Woodley, is bound to break out very soon because for anyone who’s watched her before, she’s a delight on the big screen. The two of them share a delicate chemistry that involves two very different teenagers searching for a way to grow up. Whether that actually happens at the end is for you to decide.

Oscar Talk: 12 Years a Slave a Lock?

If you haven’t heard already, 12 Years a Slave is apparently brilliant. Those who have seen it at the Toronto Film Festival are raving so much about it that it won its People’s Choice award. What does this mean? Well, it means more than you probably would expect.

In recent years, Toronto has been bumping out Oscar candidates and winners, and to no surprise studios have been taking notice. Slumdog Millionaire and The King’s Speech both won Toronto’s highest honor, and then went on to win Best Picture at the Oscars. And last year, Silver Linings Playbook won the People’s Choice award (though it didn’t win, it was still nominated for 8 Oscars) and Argo (which did win Best Picture) was runner-up in Toronto. So I’d say that the Toronto Film Festival has some real weight when it comes down to predicting the Oscar favorites.

But what is 12 Years of a Slave? Well, it’s a film by British director Steve McQueen (Hunger, Shame) about a free man kidnapped and sold into slavery in 1841. It has an incredible cast starring Chiwetel Ejiofor along with Michael Fassbender, Benedict Cumberbatch and Lupita Nyong’o. The two lesser known names are receiving incredible amount of praise with the word “Oscar” floating around. As for McQueen, he’s never been around for awards season before. Could this hurt his chances?

While 12 Years a Slave might be a lock for a nomination, it’s by far a lock to win Best Picture at the moment. Continuing with McQueen’s lack of familiarity around Oscar season, there are plenty of directors who have been around the block looking for their due. And we all know how The Academy loves to award those who are over-due. David O. Russell’s name is at the top of the list with his highly anticipated American Hustle being released later this year. Following up The Fighter and Silver Linings Playbook, Russell is showing great consistency that will be hard for The Academy to ignore.

Another over-due director is Alexander Payne. He’s won twice for penning screenplays, but doesn’t have any golden statues for directing yet. With Nebraska, Payne has a very good shot at another nomination. Alfanso Cuaron is another who should catch The Academy’s attention. With his visually dominant Gravity, it’ll be interesting to see how The Academy accepts the film. Visual Effects nominations are surely in order, but directing? Maybe.

Then there are your handful of veteran directors with movies that everyone cannot wait to see. The Coen Brothers with Inside Llewyn Davis, Martin Scorsese with The Wolf of Wall Street, George Clooney with The Monuments Men, Paul Greengrass with Captain Phillips, etc.

All I’m saying is that 12 Years a Slave is by far a lock to win Best Picture at the moment. And being the supposedly front-runner is probably the worst thing for the film. But if 12 Years a Slave does end up winning Best Picture, you just have to look at Toronto as the crystal ball of the Oscar future.

TV Reviews: The Mindy Project

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Most Recent Review:

The Mindy Project – “The Devil Wears Lands’ End” (S03E05)
Season Three, Episode Five
Grade: A-
Date: October 14, 2014

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Archive of Reviews:

– The Mindy Project – “My Cool Christian Boyfriend” (S01E19)
– The Mindy Project – “Pretty Man” (S01E20)
– The Mindy Project – “Santa Fe” (S01E21)
– The Mindy Project – “Magic Morgan” (S02E05)
– The Mindy Project – “Danny and Mindy” (S02E22)
– The Mindy Project – “We’re a Couple Now, Haters!” (S03E01)
– The Mindy Project – “The Devil Wears Lands’ End” (S03E05)

TV Reviews: Ben and Kate

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– Ben and Kate – “Scaredy Kate” (S01E06)
– Ben and Kate – “Reunion” (S01E08)
– Ben and Kate – “Girl Problems” (S01E12)
– Ben and Kate – “Bake Off” (S01E13)