The Spectacular Now

The film comes from a novel by Tim Tharpe, adapted by the "(500) Days of Summer" writers Scott Neustadter and Michael H. Weber. The film's director is James Ponsoldt, whose previous features were "Off the Black" in 2006 and, six years later, the alcohol-soaked recovery drama "Smashed." Addiction provides a theme here as well, but at its best, and despite a nagging series of shortcuts and sentimental flourishes near the end, "The Spectacular Now" has the wisdom and the skill to fold the characters' various problems inside other things. The movie may be about a budding alcoholic and his caretaker-inclined girlfriend, but this is a complicated boy and a complicated girl, both of serious value, on the verge of becoming fuller versions of themselves, a little worse yet infinitely better for wear." - Michael Phillips via The Chicago Tribune

Filmspotting #472 - Best of 2013