The Spectacular Now is an aching, hilarious, beautiful tale of aimlessness and love

Finding purpose and finding love are sometimes parallel goals, but sometimes they are at odds. Sometimes you don’t realize what you have until you’ve lost it, but then again, maybe it was never yours to begin with. And even those with the brightest potential can flush it all away by making terrible or stupid mistakes. That guy who always seems to have it all figured out, or the one that doesn’t seem to care — they might be in the greatest danger of all. And that smart girl, the one usually reading by herself, she’s got it worse than you might ever imagine. Although it’s possible you may just also have an excellent imagination.

In The Spectacular Now (based on the book of the same name), Miles Teller plays Sutter Keely, a high school senior who’s not the smartest, not the dumbest, not the strongest, not the weakest. But what he always is is charming, funny, and a great time. He and his girlfriend Cassidy (Brie Larson) were the life of every party, but then it all changed when Cassidy realized that her life would soon be different. High school over and all that. And the airy nonsense of Sutter was good for when she was younger, but such things get old — when you get older. Sutter doesn’t take it so well, getting so drunk he winds up on the lawn of a random family, woken up by classmate Aimee Finckley (Shailene Woodley), a shy, introverted girl who lacks confidence. She’s obviously beautiful as is needed for a movie, but she plays the “doesn’t realize that guys like her” part without guile and with effortless charm. What begins as an unsteady friendship between people unsure if either one is taking advantage of the other blossoms into a young romance between two very differently damaged people. Naturally, this is one of those “two people overcome difficulty with the help of the other one” situations, but this movie doesn’t let you off that easy.

There’s a light, easy build as the movie gets going, introducing you to the consistently funny Sutter and how he interacts in a friendly and confident manner with everyone, including Cassidy’s new boyfriend (Masam Holdem) and a few adult figures of authority like his teacher (Andre Royo from The Wire, which I will always mention), his boss (Bob Odenkirk), his older sister (Mary Elizabeth Winstead) and his divorced mother (Jennifer Jason Leigh, who’s been in a few seminal teen movies herself back in the day). Although his mother is hiding something — the location of Sutter’s father (Kyle Chandler, who’s great but I won’t give anything away) — which doesn’t exactly make Sutter happy at this confusing point in his life. He and Aimee must decide if they are better together or apart and how much they will sacrifice for themselves and the other’s well being. Although it gets a bit slow just slightly near the middle, that is soon forgotten. And then suddenly the movie hits with you an insane gut punch of emotion and it destroys you. Some of the predictable elements are overwhelmed by “spectacular” performances from the two leads. Miles Teller shows improvement from his previous teen movies (21 and Over, Project X), showcasing subtlety and a shocking depth to a character who’s also just a joy to watch. Shailene Woodley keeps her streak of great performances going, from The Descendants on, by continuing to be enchanting and affecting in equal measures, making you believe that this overwhelmingly cute girl might not stand out at all.

There are no bad performances here, and the dialogue sparkles. No character is simply a cardboard stereotype, everything has some depth even if you don’t realize it at first. Without spoiling anything, there are hints of things lying beneath the surface that are only barely mentioned and continue to heighten as the movie goes on. By the end, you may find yourself feeling drained … but happy. Right now, this is probably one of the best movies I’ve seen this year, and it has that sort of appeal that many people can enjoy. There will always be those who find young romance trying or cliched, but for those who aren’t completely cynical … give this one a try.