The Spectacular Now

This is extremely long overdue. It turns out the first semester in the second year of an MA is insane. Anyways, I've handed in a paper, and am ignoring the pile of analyses I have to grade so that I can write a review. First up: The Spectacular Now.

This late summer romance is directed by James Ponsoldt. I remember reading a review of it which stated that it was our generation's answer to Say Anything. I knew then that I had to see it, and I was not disappointed. The film follows Sutter (Miles Teller), a charming high school student who refuses to plan for the future and prefers to live in the now. He meets Aimee (Shailene Woodley), a sweet, hard working student with a challenging home life, and sparks, as they say,  fly.

What I really enjoyed about this film was the natural down to earth performances by Teller and Woodley. It's been over ten years since I graduated high school but watching the film took me back to the real-life experiences of being a teenager. Rather than piling on make-up and putting her in flashy clothes, Woodley's Aimee is allowed to look like a regular teenager. Her character isn't an over-the-top representation of teenage angst, or an overtly emotional look at the challenging life of a teen from a broken home. We never even see her Mom, we only hear her yelling off screen at one point. Instead, the film focusses on two characters who are drawn together and are navigating a young relationship in the midst of the unavoidable internal growth that comes with that age. I also really appreciated that the film looked at the role alcohol plays in the lives of some teens. Most teen films depict alcohol binges at parties. But what about the teenagers that drink at home alone, have a dependency on it? This is not a story told often, so it was refreshing to see it depicted.

The film takes its time, but doesn't over stay its welcome. At 95 minutes in length it tells you all you need to know, and leaves enough open at the end for you not to feel as though you've been spoon-fed the story. A great film for the majority.

The Lucky One

Before I begin this review I need to clarify a few things. Firstly, this is a review of a chick flick, and by that I mean a film that is made specifically for women aged 18-35. Secondly, I am a woman in that age bracket. Thirdly, this is a review of a chick flick.

I felt that I just needed to get that out there because so often films of this style are swept under the rug, deemed insignificant or just too 'girly'. One of the first things we're taught when creating films is to know our audience. This is a film that knows its audience.

The Lucky One centers around 25 year old Marine Logan (Zac Efron) who finds a photo of a girl whilst serving in Iraq. He then survives things that many of his fellow soldiers do not, things he believes he shouldn't have survived. He decides that if he ever makes it through he would find the woman in the photo and thank her. When he returns home he finds that he can't put the war behind him. So he and his dog Zeus make the walk to Louisiana where he's tracked the woman in the photo to.

When he arrives there he is able to find the woman, Beth (Taylor Schilling) a single mom. He takes a job at her family's dog kennel. At first Beth is suspicious of this man who's just walked from Colorado, but eventually she finds herself falling for him. However as they get closer the presence of her ex-husband, the local sheriff, and the secret Logan's hiding threatens their relationship.

I have read a few reviews of this film and most of them are not positive. I can understand why certain people wouldn't enjoy this film. It does not have a lot of depth, it's an obvious plot, the cast is your typical Nicholas Sparks creation, i.e white, heterosexual and American. If you are searching for something original then this is not the film for you.

I however found the film charming. Both Efron and Schilling created realistic characters that were true to the characters in the novel. They have great chemistry, which arguably is the most important apsect of any chick flick. There are no surprises in the plot but the film is entertaining and if you go in with 'chick flick' expectations then you'll be satisfied, and if you're a fan of Zac Efron shirtless then you won't be disappointed.