The Spectacular Now: SO Many Emotions.

Those of you that have been following me a while should notice that there aren't a lot of emotional dramas on here. (Unless they're free. Then I'll see whatever's thrown at me.) But if I'm paying for a movie, I'm not trying to walk out of it all puffy eyed and have to go home and listen to Adele for a few hours. This being said, I did not really want to subject myself to The Spectacular Now. But my friend Lauren really wanted to see it and I admit I was curious because it got such rave reviews. All told, it ended up being pretty good.

The poster that emo hipsters will post up in their lockers

this back-to-school season

The plot surrounds high school senior Sutter Keely (what a great name) as he tries to transition from high school into adulthood. Sutter begins as a fun-loving party kid with a drinking problem and, after meeting a girl unlike anyone he's ever met before, ends up having to question aspects of his life that include his estranged father, his drinking, his plans after high school, and the general way that he lives his life.

Goddamnit they were adorable.

The acting in this was superb. Sutter, as played by Miles Teller (who seems like a hybrid of Jonah Hill and Vince Vaughn) , is so believable as a kid that doesn't want to grow up. He reminds me of a bunch of guys I knew in high school. So happy to be in the "spectacular now" that they don't realize that actions have consequences and that youth doesn't last forever. When he first meets Aimee, he keeps her at arms' length as he tries to win back his ex-girlfriend, Cassidy. Which is a total dick move. But then as the movie goes on, you realize that this guy purposefully keeps things from being serious in his life. A fear of rejection by those he loves and a sort of adorable naivete keeps him living life with uncertainty and without plans. He is then faced with the decision of whether to keep living for fun or to live for something with depth.

Or to live with recurring hangovers.

His girlfriend Aimee, as played by Shailene Woodley (who I freakin' loved in Descendants), was also amazing. Starting out as a shy overlooked girl, she is completely charmed by Sutter and (small wonder) falls head over heels in love with him. Their chemistry almost hurts your heart in the way that only uncomplicated high school love can. Oh god the feels.

So many feels.

I liked this movie because it comments on so many different aspects of what millennials seem to be having trouble with, myself included. We are marketed to by popular culture (anyone see dem VMAs?) to live life in the moment because #YOLO (kill me.) and party our heads off and drink and not worry about the future. But Sutter's story sheds light on the fact that you really just can't live like that. His relationship with Aimee for example, which is something with a lot of depth, is something that he takes for granted until it's almost too late. This movie reminds you that while it's fine to be a charismatic person with a tendency towards partying, everyone should have their limits and realize that the worthwhile things in life take a little cultivation and...well...love.

8.5 out of 10. A really introspective movie. So many feeeeeelings.

OH GODDAMNIT THIS TRAILER EVEN MAKES ME EMOTIONAL

Let me also say that I know that high school kids nationwide are going to take this movie and turn it into a big stupid quote-machine for reasons why people should live in the "spectacular now," but keep in mind that the title is a little ironic. It had to be said.

Two Half-Assed Reviews of Two Actually Good Movies

To be honest, even though I did see both Being Elmo and The Descendants in the past two weeks, I really never had time to write about them. So instead of offering up some watered-down, halfassed, twice-as-long description of those two movies that would take about forty-five minutes each to write without any really saying anything, I’m going to sum them both up:

Who needs feelings when you have a puppet to feel them for you?

Being Elmo was good. A documentary about Kevin Clash, the puppeteer that created Elmo and acts as his puppeteer to this day. Not a bad movie, but could’ve been a little more introspective. Unless of course all this man thinks about is puppets, which is hinted at more than once by the mere subject matter of this film. You get the impression that while this guy is a puppet genius, he doesn’t think about much else…

Totally copying off of my userpic...

The Descendants was incredible. Though it boasts a plot line that could easily be found in any daytime soap opera, this movie is beautifully subtle and incredibly believable. Dealing with the drama of his wife dying as a result of a jet ski accident, Matt King then finds out that she was cheating on him not long beforehand. The frustration and confusion from both Matt King, his eldest daughter (who would've thought that the girl from Secret Life would turn out to be an actually good actress?), and her aloof friend Sid is completely tangible on the backdrop of beautiful Hawaii. Lots of Hawaiian shirts. Lots of family drama. Very cool movie. Very cool.