8 out of 10

By Hayden Prescott Corwin ’15
THE ROUNDUP

Being a teenager can seem like the greatest, most inescapable and invincible era in a person’s life.

“The Spectacular Now”, directed by James Ponsoldt and written by Scott Neustadter and Michael H. Weber, begins with the character Sutter Keely, played by Miles Teller, living in what he calls “the now.”

Keely is the stereotypical “party man” high school senior that has the beautiful girl, steady job at a men’s clothing store, a care free attitude  and he is never far from his flask.

Keely’s life seems to be at its acme until one morning he wakes up on a front lawn to the voice of Aimee Finecky played by Shailene Woodley.

Finecky is the nerdy girl that Keely would never have seen himself falling in love with.

The opportunity arises for Keely to be with Finecky when his girlfriend leaves him for another guy.

Soon after being in the relationship with Finecky, Keely begins to wonder what his dad, who left him at a young age, was like.

These scenarios would have felt mixed up and confusing, but the director played them out with seamless transitions and powerful dialogue that brought the movie to a point of clarity that would lead the story into more dramatic scenarios.

The movie soon hits the climax and a quick downward spiral in Keely’s life which makes him question whether living in the “now” was the correct choice or not.

Teller plays the drama and light-hearted sides of his character with what appears to be great ease. The viewer reacts to the role of Sutter Keely so definitely with frustration and joy.

The movie felt slow at moments but the visuals were striking, the dialogue was smart and the acting pulled the viewer further into the film.

“The Spectacular Now” is a great movie to end the summer season.