CliqueClack has partnered with A24 and Allied Integrated Marketing to offer readers in the Baltimore area free passes to see the critically acclaimed The Spectacular Now. The advance screening will take place Thursday, August 15, 7:00 PM at the Charles Theater. To get your free passes, simply leave a comment on this post. The first 75 comments will receive a GoFoBo code which will allow you to print out up to two Admit One passes. Winners will be contacted by email, so please make sure your email address is entered into the form correctly. Do not put your email address in the comment box as this is a public forum.

Please note that passes do not guarantee seats. Seating is first-come, first-served, so please plan to arrive early. CliqueClack has no control over the number of passes distributed or seating at the theater.

Check out the trailer after the break, and let us know that you want to see this film! The Spectacular Now opens in Baltimore on August 23rd.

//www.youtube.com/watch?v=0dCfbBwFI2Y

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 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.

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