I am so glad I caught a screening of this film because I will definitely be seeing it again after it's wide release.
From the writers of 500 Days of Summer, which we all know wasn't just your average love story, comes a seemingly average love story in The Spectacular Now. But it isn't very average, and that's the beauty of it. The story observed here carries a genuine believability to it that allows a gushy teenage girl who searches for the perfect love story to be able to relate to the film in a way that isn't as unrealistic as some other popular romance films.
That's just what romantic films are right? Another relationship you wish you had? Not exactly the case here. Don't get me wrong, that is what this film is, but it really is much more than that. This film not only portrays an enviable romantic relationship between boy and girl, but also a relationship between man and life, man and the world, man and the now, and that's what allows it to be so powerful.
The acting across the board is great. I have found that movies like this that have relatively undiscovered actors and actresses as the lead roles allow for a good connection from the audience to the story, especially when the story is a good one like it is here.
Live in the now, because there's no way to know you're in the good ole' days until you've left them. And yes, I did steal that from The Office.
8/10
EDIT: Saw it a second time with a Q&A with Miles Teller after the film. Got to talk to him about 21 & Over real quick and he ended up talking a lot about how The Spectacular Now was somewhat rushed, shot in only 25 days and the most of the actors had met only minutes before shooting some intimate, emotional scenes such as the scenes with Sutter and his mother and father. Apparently the first words Kyle Chandler ever said to Miles were in character with the camera rolling. Also, *possible spoiler* but apparently the scene with Sutter and Amy's first bond moment at the party by the pond was a 5 minute rolling shot with the camera man holding a simple 35mm walking backwards, and at the end of the scene the camera man fell and they kept the "arsty" shaky shot of the sky in the film.
He was a really cool guy and was very humble and just pretty normal. Told me that filming 21 & Over was a "sh*t fest" and I said "must've been fun though!" he laughed and said "a fun, fun sh*t fest bro."
Really cool guy.
From the writers of 500 Days of Summer, which we all know wasn't just your average love story, comes a seemingly average love story in The Spectacular Now. But it isn't very average, and that's the beauty of it. The story observed here carries a genuine believability to it that allows a gushy teenage girl who searches for the perfect love story to be able to relate to the film in a way that isn't as unrealistic as some other popular romance films.
That's just what romantic films are right? Another relationship you wish you had? Not exactly the case here. Don't get me wrong, that is what this film is, but it really is much more than that. This film not only portrays an enviable romantic relationship between boy and girl, but also a relationship between man and life, man and the world, man and the now, and that's what allows it to be so powerful.
The acting across the board is great. I have found that movies like this that have relatively undiscovered actors and actresses as the lead roles allow for a good connection from the audience to the story, especially when the story is a good one like it is here.
Live in the now, because there's no way to know you're in the good ole' days until you've left them. And yes, I did steal that from The Office.
8/10
EDIT: Saw it a second time with a Q&A with Miles Teller after the film. Got to talk to him about 21 & Over real quick and he ended up talking a lot about how The Spectacular Now was somewhat rushed, shot in only 25 days and the most of the actors had met only minutes before shooting some intimate, emotional scenes such as the scenes with Sutter and his mother and father. Apparently the first words Kyle Chandler ever said to Miles were in character with the camera rolling. Also, *possible spoiler* but apparently the scene with Sutter and Amy's first bond moment at the party by the pond was a 5 minute rolling shot with the camera man holding a simple 35mm walking backwards, and at the end of the scene the camera man fell and they kept the "arsty" shaky shot of the sky in the film.
He was a really cool guy and was very humble and just pretty normal. Told me that filming 21 & Over was a "sh*t fest" and I said "must've been fun though!" he laughed and said "a fun, fun sh*t fest bro."
Really cool guy.