The Spectacular Now is a coming-of-age drama mixed with young love story about Sutter (Miles Kelly, an interesting, uncynical young find who can communicate a lot of different sides to this character without coming off too fresh or overwrought) who starts off obnoxious (but in the way that is believable to the way that teenage boys can get obnoxious) and in the wake of a failed relationship meets a good, sweet girl, Amy, and a natural relationship unfolds in their senior year of High School. While this is going on, he has a problem with alcohol - which extends to Amy - and about a past history that Sutter has to confront with a dead- beat father.

The film that is very well written (based on a book but having that same quality in the dialog and story turns that speaks to their intelligence at navigating conventions) without being show-offy, and performances that feel raw and sensitive and try to avoid a lot of clichés (or that Hollywood way of showing teenagers "like we think they are" as opposed to how they are closer to life),and a strong dramatic story about young love and overcoming the flaws in yourself.

It's not perfect, and has a few little things with the alcohol element to the film that irked me (which is much bigger than what you may realize seeing the trailer, much more actually, it's really a companion piece with this director's previous movie Smashed which is also about boozing),but its real and honest and that's so rare to find in a teenage story like this. Woodley has a long career ahead of her, and has that great distinction of being naturally pretty, dramatically intuitive, and yet is not SO pretty that you can't accept her as a cute teenager girl (or... dare I say Mary Jane in the next Spiderman movie?) Go see it - it's not top 10 of the year great, but it's great in the ways that matter for a story like this.

Sutter Keely (Miles Teller) is the life of the party with his girlfriend Cassidy (Brie Larson). She dumps him after a misunderstanding. He gets passed-out drunk and Aimee Finecky (Shailene Woodley) finds him asleep on a lawn during her paper route. He's an irresponsible teen who drinks too much. He finds something compelling about the quiet bookworm nice girl and asks her to the prom. Aimee has never had a boyfriend before and he has daddy issues.

This movie is low-key in tone. It allows the two leads to bring out their natural charms. The great thing about it is that the actors fit their characters so easily. The daddy issue isn't the most original and Sutter himself would say that his issues aren't greater than most other kids. I still like the performances.

The Spectacular Now is one of these modest, low budget independent films. It has a few star performers making small cameos. A film that has some intelligence but I felt it still pulls it punches. It does not want to go off base and head for a troubled ending.

Sutter Keely (Miles Teller) is a cheerful soul, a party loving guy who maybe drinks too much and not exactly heading to graduate out of high school. When he is dumped by his girlfriend Cassidy (Brie Larson) Sutter gets drunk falls asleep on a garden lawn. He is found next morning by Aimee Finecky (Shailene Woodley) a fellow student.

Aimee is nice, clever geeky, awkward, she never had a boyfriend. Sutter is hoping to get back with his ex but she has moved on. So Sutter starts a relationship with the virginal Aimee but Sutter's drinking is getting out of control. He develops further issues when he later meets his alcoholic father who walked out on Sutter when he was a child.

A well acted film from its young cast but the ending was trite as it never tackles Sutter's alcoholism.