Go See "The Spectacular Now"!

It's August, which means all the good indie movies that are itching for a "Best Original/Adapted Screenplay" Oscar are out! I'm sure most years there are a great crop of them, but for whatever reason I'm really responding well to this one's. So first, go check out The Spectacular Now. I'd say it was from the guys who wrote 500 Days of Summer, but I didn't really like that movie (I thought the structure was super interesting, the musical post-sex scene was of course a delight, but the story and characters were lacking). I'd say it's adapted from a great novel, but I haven't read it and the reviews actually make it seem like the movie is better... So I'll just say go see it because it's great. I'm not posing the trailer because it makes the film seem like a comedy, when it is very much not a comedy.

What I loved most about it was that at every turn, instead of taking the dramatic movie choice, it took the real-world-consequences choice. While they may seem like the stakes were lower, they actually felt higher because I could see it really happening. I've had friends like these characters, had moments where I felt like them, where I've made similar decisions, suffered similar defeats and aches. That was so refreshing. I also appreciated that it was a teen movie where all the teens weren't inexplicably rich. I loved that the characters felt three-dimensional. I wish Shailene Woodley's character had a bit more screentime, or maybe a few scenes without Miles Teller's character, because I felt she was so rich and wanted to know more about her. Also, it has probably the most realistic virginity-losing sex scenes of all time. For serious. Overall, everything was excellent - writing, action, direction, story in general.

So go see it already!