I lost count.
I love this movie.
Do i have to say it again? I. Love. It.
The thing about The Spectacular Now is that it tells a story. It tells the life story of a boy that can't seem to understand why people bother so much preparing for the future when they can choose to be happy right now. After he's blown off by his ex-girlfriend, he meets a typical girl-next-door Aimee Finicky, who seems so normal that he finally takes a step back from his hard-partying life to spend some time with her. He befriends her with the intention of 'helping her out' which mainly means introducing her to sexual education, because she's never had a boyfriend. Instead he finds himself falling for her with her unselfish ways and simple speech and it doesn't take long before the two are a couple.
And the damn screen cuts to black.
This is one of my favorite scenes because both characters are being so unselfish and show it in their own way. After seeing his father act so recklessly, Sutter doesn't want to hurt Aimee the same way and so he tries to prevent it by pushing her away. Of course, he's only hurting her. He does it because he believes he is a replica of his father. Everything he does, the drinking, partying, pick-up lines, charming conversations, reminds him of his father. Because he initially 'picked' Aimee up with the intention of 'educating' her, he believes he doesn't deserve her now that he's sincere.
Right after that, its graduation. I just love the way this movie positions its scenes, you know, they can spend a whole week showing you the growth of Sutter's and Aimee's relationship and jump into prom right after that. And after prom its graduation, but it doesn't feel hurried because you've already spent enough time with the characters earlier on. We've gotten used to their presence, and the filmmakers realize that, so they fast forward time to a few months forward without the need to place a caption on screen. It's understood. And it doesn't feel out of place.
Amazing movie.
How many times has this movie made me cry?
How many times has it made me question about my life, my future, my self?
How many times has it made me realize I had those answers all along?
I can't believe I put off watching it this long. It's not everyday that a movie touches me the same way Les Mis did, make me recall my high school days the way Perks did, and think about my first love the way Flipped did.
It leads you on a path taken before, nights after prom, breakups, recent hookups, the thrill of romance, family hardships, and basically everything life is when you're in high school. Certain scenes you relate so much it hurts; you can't help but feel this movie is a passionate retelling of your life and what you did or wish you did before. It encourages you to live in the 'moment', as Sutter often puts it, 'I choose to live in the Now, because its happening.'
I know this part sounds hopelessly common to you, but the film manages to pace it so well that the story unfolds in its own way, has time to develop, and by the end of the movie you feel like you know Sutter as an old friend. Even the sex scene doesn't feel rushed, it isn't slapped in your face with the thrill of bedroom drapes and seductive women pouting their heavily made-up faces at you. And suddenly he plugs her and its over, back to ordinary school life, and you just have to accept the fact that it happened normally just as it wouldn't in real life.
Anyway, back to the story. The two get close, and while Sutter's friend Ricky questions his sudden change of taste in women, Sutter insists that there's more to Aimee. Besides, the worst-case scenario is that he gives her boyfriend experience and walks away unscathed. How bad can that be?
After several tutoring sessions together, Sutter asks Aimee out on a date where he spontaneously tells her she's beautiful and despite her weak protests, kisses her. This leads to him asking her out for prom, taking her to home-dinner dates, and ultimately, bringing her to visit his estranged father. The visit slaps Sutter in the face that his father isn't the man he thought him to be, and understands why his mother kept him a forbidden topic. He takes it out on Aimee the way home, claiming she doesn't really love him and that she's only declaring so because she's drunk. A car swerves dangerously close and Sutter barely manages to avoid it. Aimee unbuckles her seat belt and quickly checks him for injuries, asking if he's okay. Sutter's furious because he almost killed her and instead of being mad, she's doing the exact opposite. He screams that she needs to get away from him, that he's a bad influence, whilst she tearfully apologizes and tries to calm him down. He yells at her to get out from his car which she does, sobbing and crying and looking so painfully helpless, before a car drives past and tears her down.
Aimee on the other hand is so blinded and full of love for Sutter that she doesn't understand what he's doing. But even worse is that she's not mad at him for it, no matter the reason. The fact that he exists and is beside her is enough, because he's all that matters to her. She's so selfless that when he shows up at her house to say sorry, she doesn't even want to hear it. She shushes him and says, 'Lets pretend like it never happened.'
Then, looking into his remorseful brown eyes, she says, 'I know. Don't say it. It's okay.'
It's a relief to be given some normal daily happenings of an American teenager instead of the usual tragic background story and overdramatized script. I especially loved the conversation scene between Sutter and Aimee where he asks her, 'So whats your thing?' and she replies, 'I don't know. I like to think there's more than just one thing to a person.'
The degree of awkwardness in this movie is just about right, the intimacy brought to a personal level and the makeup completely washed away. You can see Sutter's scars, Aimee's freckles, and they aren't glossed up in hip clothing and celebrating within the trendy crowd. The emotional depth is wider on a personal connection when all artificial trickery is stripped away and left with imperfections that remind us of our own life. All of which has been lost in the glam of Hollywood moviemaking. But the best part of this movie is that it has a happy ending. When Aimee leaves for Philadelphia, she waits for Sutter to come see her off, even holding back the bus to do so. But he doesn't come, doesn't answer her calls. When we see him drinking in the bar and asking a stranger if he did the right thing, we assume he's done a silent breakup. But wait!
We're shown Sutter staring at his college application once again, going over about his hardships, dealing with them, and realizing that while its fine to live in the spectacular now, there's always going to be another one tomorrow. He ends with a note to start making them count, and just as you think that's the end of it, a new scene opens with him walking up the stairs of a building just as Aimee walks out. She sees him, and a smile plays over her face just as the screen goes black again, but I think we can all guess what happens next.
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