Tag Archives: young love

The Spectacular Now

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spectacular

Director: James Ponsoldt

Writer: Scott Neustadter, Michael H. Weber

Based On: Novel (The Spectacular Now) by Tim Tharp

Starring: Miles Teller, Shailene Woodley,

Tomatometer: 90/95/82 (all critics, top critics, audience)

Spoiler-free Summary: Sutter is a high school senior floating through life in a drunken stupor. After he passes out on a random front lawn, Sutter is rescued by a shy classmate, Aimee, whom he’s never noticed.  Sutter spends the remainder of the school year trying to help Aimee break out of her shell.

Two Cents: Have you ever seen Reign Over Me?  Don’t worry, barely anyone has.  It’s a movie with Adam Sandler.  You’ll notice, I didn’t call it an Adam Sandler movie. ROM is nothing like Jack & Jill.  It’s about a guy who loses his wife and children in a plane crash and, subsequently, goes a tad nuts, understandably.  Starring opposite Don Cheadle, Sandler gave an incredible performance that was unlike anything he’d done previously. The most impressive part of Sandler’s performance was the fact that no one saw it coming (except for director Mike Binder, I guess).  Sure, Sandler has wasted his time with some awful comedies, but his remarkable performance in ROM forever altered my opinion of his acting abilities.

Miles Teller doesn’t possess the data sample that Sandler did before 2007, but, based on his previous work (Project X, 21 & Over, Footloose), his performance in The Spectacular Now is almost as surprising as Sandler’s was.  Teller’s Sutter starts out as a fun-loving, drunk high schooler you might encounter in any other teenage romance.  As the movie plays out, though, Teller reveals more and more about Sutter’s troubled past and the tension that’s constantly bubbling below his calm and freewheeling surface.  Teller is the kind of actor who seems so natural that you don’t quite believe he’s really acting at all.  If he didn’t seem so nice, I’d hate his guts.

I’m embarrassed to say it, but I must admit that someone from ABC Family has some serious acting chops.  No, it’s not Joey Lawrence.  Shailene Woodley escaped obscurity (unless you’re a female tween) with her breakout performance in The Descendants.  In that Oscar-winning film, Woodley played a teenage girl fighting to prove her adulthood.  In Spectacular, she plays a teenage girl timidly assessing hers.  Although the characters sound similar, they are markedly different.  She was really good in the former, but she truly nails it in the latter.

The chemistry between the two leads is not of legendary status, but it’s natural enough that you’ll want to see more movies with these two stars together.  (Sweet!  I just found out they’ll be starring in Neil Burger’s Divergent, in 2014.)  I’d argue it’s just a few hairs short of Noah and Allie’s in The Notebook.  I’d probably lose pretty quickly, but I’d still make the argument. Okay, now, I’m debating it in my head.  This has taken a sad turn.  Back to business!

The beaten-down-by-life performances from Jennifer Jason Leigh and Kyle Chandler, though small, are the perfect complements to the youthfulness exhibited by Teller and Woodley.  Ponsoldt does a marvelous job of capturing the very moments when teens begin to realize that teens are depressingly close to becoming adults, who are lightyears away from being teens.

There are a few problems with this film, but they mostly revolve around the unsettling ubiquity of armpit sweat stains.  I have to assume those were included on purpose.  Either that, or they were filming during an unprecedented, Georgian heatwave.  I didn’t love the film’s attitude toward drunk driving, but I grew more comfortable with it as the movie played.

Should I/Shouldn’t I: Teenage romance is one of the most important experiences in any person’s life.  Unfortunately, these days, it’s refreshing just to see a movie about one that doesn’t involve an immortal or a superhuman.  This movie’s got a whole lot more than that going for it.  The plot is realistic, the characters are deep, and Teller and Woodley (who shared a Special Jury award at Sundance) are worth the price of admission.  Sadly, I’m not sure either Teller or Woodley possesses the necessary “look” to become a bona fide Hollywood star, but they’ve each certainly got the talent (by far, the less important ingredient, unfortunately).  God, I hope I’m wrong!  I’ll put ten bucks on Teller becoming the next John Cusack.

Sundae Rating: Two scoops with whipped cream

The Kings of Summer

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kings of summer

Director: Jordan Vogt-Roberts

Writer: Chris Galletta

Starring:  Nick Robinson, Gabriel Basso, Moises Arias, Nick Offerman, Erin Moriarty

Tomatometer: 72/61/83 (all critics, top critics, audience)

Spoiler-free Summary: Sick of living with his miserable father, and hoping to impress his sweetheart, Kelly, Joe decides to run away from home and live in the woods.  He is joined by his best pal, Patrick, who is desperate to escape the claws of his own overbearing and unbearably annoying parents.  Somehow, Biaggio, a peculiar neighborhood kid, winds up on the team, as well.

Two Cents: Some movies are summer movies because they are released during the summer.  Others are summer movies because they celebrate the most wonderful blessing ever bestowed on a child – summer!  Not summer in terms of weather and Earth’s position in the galaxy, but summer in terms of vacation from school.  The Kings of Summer, as you may have surmised from its title, is in the latter category.

In this exquisite ode to the freedom and exploration (of nature and self) that are synonymous with summer vacation, three teenagers cause widespread panic as they courageously escape their mundane lives.  The only sad part of the movie is the fact that the main characters are so sheltered, they’ve never even heard of sleep-away camp, a modern and popular alternative to running away from home.  Sad as that may be, Joe, Patrick, and Biaggio make the most of their summer break by building a sweet “tree house” in the woods.  While living there, they encounter all the problems one might expect to befall a suburban teenager living on his own – lack of funds, lack of survival skills, and, most importantly, lack of deodorant.

Although the main characters seek freedom from their parents, that freedom is symbolic.  Not only do these kids live outside of their homes, but they live outside the pressures of teenage social life.  An athlete, a nerd, and a complete nut job become family, much like in The Breakfast Club, simply because they are together, and no one else is watching.  It’s a classic theme in teen movies, and Vogt-Roberts handles it beautifully.  I often remind myself that, were there no one on Earth but we two, Brad Pitt would consider me his best friend.

Robinson, Basso, and Arias are all solid in this film, but none stands out as a future star.  Arias is the most interesting, as he takes awkwardness to new heights, but his act probably isn’t sustainable.  Moriarty does a nice job as Joe’s love interest, but she may not end up being yours.  Nick Offerman is the real star of the movie, delivering his classic mean-spirited, dry sarcasm with incredible touch.  Megan Mullally puts her famously shrill voice to good use as Patrick’s insufferable mother.

Should I/Shouldn’t I: The Kings of Summer is the kind of movie that makes you long for your childhood.  If you’re not seduced by all the billboards and commercials hawking blockbusters this summer, find some time to see this indie.  It won’t be playing in many theaters, and it might not be out for very long, so get on your horse!

Sundae Rating: Two scoops with whipped cream