It Better Be SPECTACULAR Right NOW!

THE SPECTACULAR NOW

(Dir. James Ponsoldt, 2013)

Perhaps this post’s heading is a bit extreme, but since I missed the press screening for this film when I went on vacation in July, I kept hearing about film critic types in these here internets going absolutely gaga for it. So sure, my expectations may have been too high, but despite thinking that it was a well made melodrama with some fine acting, THE SPECTACULAR NOW felt like a big screen Afterschool Special to me.

However, I will say upfront that Miles Teller, as the slick talking protagonist Sutter Keely, redeems himself for being the obnoxious center of attention in the awful teensploitation flick 21 AND OVER earlier this year. Teller deftly portrays a hard drinking (he seems to always have a flask in hand) high school senior that has no plans for the future, because he lives in the “now.”

After being dumped by his girlfriend (Brie Larson), Teller gets wasted one wild night and on the way home passes out in the lawn of the nice girl from school that he never noticed before, played by Shailene Woodley, best known for playing George Clooney’s precocious daughter in the DESCENDANTS.

The two fall in love but face a rocky road together as she has dreams of leaving their sleepy small town life (the film was mostly shot in Athens, Georgia) and going to college in Philadelphia, but Teller just wants to stay put and keep partying.

Our boozy boy Teller, who works at a men’s clothing store under boss Bob Odenkirk (Mr. Show, Breaking Bad), got his philosophy of life from his deadbeat dad of a father (seen here portrayed by a great sweaty Kyle Chandler). Jennifer Jason Leigh, sadly in too small a part, as Teller’s mother, had the right idea in trying to shield her son from his extremely unfit father. This is something Teller learns, along with Woodley, when they take an ill fated road trip to meet up with Chandler.

An obvious staple of teen romance films is a prom scene, and to the credit of Pondsoldt and writers Scott Neustadter and Michael H. Weber, who based the screenplay on the 2008 young adult novel by Tim Tharp, it’s a nicely understated scene. A glowing, and of course lit, Teller looks around at his schoolmates and says: “This is the youngest we're ever going to be.” We’ve all known somebody who prides themselves on always being the life of the party, and in that moment Teller nails being able to say something as stupid as that and making it almost seem profound.

With the naturistic rhythms of their acting nicely complimenting each other, Teller and Woodley are a very believable couple. The film framing them stays too much on the surface of all the events it depicts though.

I liked but didn't love Poldsoldt’s previous film, SMASHED (2012), his second as director, which was also concerned with the effect of alcoholism on a relationship. I haven't seen his first film, 2006's OFF THE BLACK, but the IMDb description says it has Nick Nolte as “an aging, disillusioned alcoholic” so it would be understatement to say I'm sensing a theme here.

THE SPECTACULAR NOW has a fair share of truthful heartfelt moments, but it's not hard enough on its lead character. It seems to just want us to shake our head disapprovingly at him, but know he'll ultimately shape up and fly right.

But then, so many movies don't have this kind of unpretentious thoughtful tone, and don't even try for the realism that's certainly on display here, so maybe I'm being too hard on it. I mean, come to think of it, there were some excellent Afterschool Specials.

More later...

THE DESCENDANTS: Quaffable, But Far From Transcendent

THE DESCENDANTS (Dir. Alexander Payne, 2011)

In his consistently fine films, Alexander Payne excels in capturing his characters’ descent into desperate goofiness.

From school teacher Matthew Broderick’s scheming to have an ill-fated affair in ELECTION, to Paul Giamatti’s reacting to news that his book has being rejected by yet another publisher by swigging the spit bowl at a public wine tasting in SIDEWAYS, Payne has nailed some hilariously pathetic behavior.

Which is why I kept waiting for Payne’s latest protagonist, a well-to-do lawyer in Hawaii played by George Clooney, to lose his cool. Oddly, except for some doofish running in flip-flops, and darting behind bushes, Clooney mostly keeps it in check.

Clooney’s wife is in a coma after a boating accident, he’s responsible for handling the sale of the 25,000 acres of Kaua’I island land his family owns, and his 2 daughters (the rebellious Shailene Woodley and the foul mouthed Amara Miller) are more than a handful.

There’s also that Woodley, home from private school, tells her befuddled father that “mom was cheating on you.”

With all that I expected more of a breakdown than a simple sobbing at a creek, but Clooney shows admirable restraint, only allowing his emotions to flow at appropriate points. Even when confronting the dorky real estate agent who his wife was seeing on the side, Clooney does teeter on the edge of desperate goofiness, yet still saves face.

Clooney narrates us through the tropical world where businessmen look like beach bums, as he tolerates Woodley’s druggie boyfriend (Nick Krause, who gets way too much screen-time), and the meddling members of his family (including the gruff as ever Robert Forester, and the easy going Beau Bridges).

Like with his last 3 films, Payne has adapted a contemporary novel, this time Kaui Hart Hemmings’ 2007 book of the same name, and changed crucial details to make it his own.

It has a lot going for it in its execution, Clooney’s performance, and the lushness of Hawaii is as strikingly shot by cinematographer Phedon Papamichael as the wine country he shot in SIDEWAYS was (no ‘70s-style split screen action though this time), but THE DESCENDANTS is not as sharp or vital as Payne’s previous work *, because of a padded story-line which makes its premise lose power over the course of its nearly 2 hour running time.

There’s also the difficulty of fully feeling sorry for or relating to Clooney’s character. Despite how much of a schlub they try to make him, he’s still George Clooney in all his charms, and it feels too pat that all he and his daughters need to do to heal their pain is to sit together on a sofa, eat ice cream, and watch MARCH OF THE PENGUINS. As comforting a notion as that may be to some people.

In Payne’s most popular film SIDEWAYS, protagonist Giamatti appraises one wine as being “quaffable, but far from transcendent.”

Ditto for THE DESCENDANTS.

* My personal favorite of Payne’s films is ABOUT SCHMIDT (2002) starring Jack Nicholson. Definitely see that if you haven’t already before, (or instead of) THE DESCENDANTS.

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