The Spectacular Now Part 2: A Mature Coming-of-Age Romance with Two Spectacular Performances (Film Analysis)

LINK TO PART 1!!!

The film wastes no time introducing its deuteragonist and romantic interest Aimee Finecky (Shailene Woodley), as she discovers a passed-out Sutter laying on one of her paper route’s lawns:

Aimee: Hello? Hello?.

Sutter: groggily waking up …Hi.

Aimee: Hi! Oh, my God you're alive. I thought for a second that maybe you were dead.

Sutter: I don't think I'm dead. Where the hell am I?

Aimee: You're in the middle of a yard. Do you know who lives here?

Sutter: No. Jesus, I must've fallen asleep... Where the hell's my car?

Aimee: I don't know. Do you live around here, Sutter?

Sutter: …How do you know my name?

Aimee: We go to the same school. You wouldn't know who I am.

Sutter: No, I know you. You're…….umm.

Aimee: I'm Aimee. Aimee Finecky.

Sutter: That's what I was gonna say. Nice to meet you, Aimee.

Aimee: chuckles Nice to meet you.

Sutter: …Are you just getting back from a party or something?

Aimee: No, I'm just on my paper route. It's not really mine. It's my mom's…

Sutter: Do you need help?

Aimee: No, I'm okay. Thank you though.

Sutter: Aimee, you're gonna drive around the neighborhood... and I don't know where my car is. So I think that we can help each other out. What do you say?

The initial conversation makes it apparent that Aimee is introverted, meek, and kind.  She's not one of the popular party kids and is most likely a wallflower going by her aforementioned personality traits and Sutter not recognizing her as a fellow classmate.  This was not the first performance I saw from Shailene Woodley, that would go to her role in The Descendants as the strong-willed, substance-abusing daughter of George Clooney's character.  Her performance The Descendants is a strong and noteworthy one, yet it's her complete one-eighty characterization in The Spectacular Now that engrained into my head who Shailene Woodley is.  Aimee is a remarkable stark contrast character to Woodley’s role in The Descendants as well as to Sutter's character.  

The two vastly differing teenagers have immediate chemistry between them.  Sutter, despite just waking up from a drunken night of partying, displays his charming appeal by complimenting Aimee—noting how she cheered him up from a rather rotten night—helping with her job by tossing newspapers out the car window while she drives, and sharing humorous banter with her.  It’s never shown if Sutter finds his car or not, but it no longer seems to matter to him.  It’s as if Sutter has forgotten everything else in the world, with Aimee becoming the only thing that matters—not in a sexual/romantic sense mind you (though there’s certainly a building flirtation between them), but from a person perspective.  Aimee as a person, her life, interests, happiness, seem to be the only thing that matters to Sutter at the moment—ending with him setting a school lunch date between the two.

Yet by the next day Sutter has completely forgotten about the planned lunch and Aimee in general—trying to make plans with his friend instead.  His friend, fortunately, reminds him of the planned date, noting how odd she is as a choice for a rebound:

Sutter: Dude, she's not a rebound. She's not. Do I look like I have any interest in dating Aimee Finecky? I think she's a nice girI... whose mom makes her deliver newspapers 5:00 in the morning, six days a week, pays half the bills. Aimee doesn't say s*** about it.

Friend: That sucks.

Sutter: It's bulls*** is what it is.

Friend: So where do you come in?

Sutter: I mean, I think I can help her out.

Sutter believes his own statement as well, or he at least convinces himself of such.  Sutter’s arrogance and bloated self-importance is his first really noticeable character fault.  He’s the cool, popular kid who’s going out of his way to help the wallflower with a tough life.  When eating lunch with her, Sutter is in control of where their conversation goes—pushing Aimee to talk about herself and asks what her “thing” is.  Once again, she’s become his only focus, complimenting how she’s a great listener and showing interest in who she is.  Aimee’s mannerisms and the way she acts could be described as a mirror to Sutter’s thinking.  She sees herself as the weird wallflower who, by miracle chance, has been noticed by and is bonding with one of the popular kids.  She falls hook, line, and sinker for Sutter’s charm and good looks.  When Sutter asks her to tell a story, Aimee immediately tries telling a time she saw Sutter doing something funny.  When Sutter clarifies he meant a story about herself, Aimee dodges the question, perhaps out of insecurity that he’ll find her bland or strange.

Both are approaching this relationship in an unhealthy manner—Sutter thinks he’s superior, Aimee thinks she’s inferior—but it’s also very realistic for their age setting (I’ve been on and can relate to both sides here).  Aimee’s friend Krystal (Kaitlyn Dever), however, can see right through Sutter’s charm—and doesn’t hide her disapproval for Aimee’s new crush.  It certainly doesn’t help appearances when Sutter asks Aimee if she can help tutor him in math, which she quickly agrees to.   While this certainly looks Machiavellian on Sutter’s part, it was only right before the date that Sutter’s math teacher confronted him about flunking class.  While it could be argued this is the only reason Sutter got lunch with Aimee, I don’t believe this to be the case.  As will be made clearer throughout, current Sutter does not scheme for the future, though he will certainly take advantage of the current situation.

Sutter works at a clothing store where he presumably gets all his funds for buying alcohol and partying—drinking on the job by using a plastic cup as a disguise.  His boss Dan (bob Odenkirk, another noteworthy celebrity I completely forgot was in the film) shares an amicable relationship with Sutter, almost fatherly as the two jokingly note:

Sutter: When are you gonna adopt me?

Dan: I'm sorry. Two's my limit on mouths to feed.

Sutter: Okay. Offer's still there.

Dan: What were we talking about?

Sutter: Cassidy.

Dan: Yeah. I liked her.

Sutter: Yeah. Me too.

Dan: Kinda thought she'd be the one to yank you out of neutral.

Sutter: NeutraI? What are you talking about? Dan, I'm in overdrive.

There’s a much later scene that occurs here that I want to touch upon now.  While working, Sutter finds himself confronted by Cassie’s new boyfriend Marcus (Dayo Okeniyi) who demands to know what's going on between him and Cassidy.  Marcus hasn't had much screen time in the film, so when the jock barges in here with an aggressive tone, it gives the impression Sutter’s about to get his ass kicked.  Yet that's not what happens, and I love what does.  Max-level charisma Sutter is able to calm Marcus down, reassuring the jock that nothing has happened between them.  Marcus then suddenly ends up spilling his heart out to Sutter, noting his insecurities with his relationship and how he wishes Cassidy looked at him the way she looked at Sutter:

Marcus: Why can't it be me that she has fun with? I'm not like you. I don't know how to make her laugh.

Sutter: Dude, you are Marcus West, man. You're the star athlete. You're the class president. You are awesome! What's the name of that charity that you started?

Marcus: The Hope Squadron.

Sutter: The f***ing Hope Squadron, man! That is awesome! You do not need my help. You're the man.

Marcus: No, it's not the same. The way she talks about you, man. I want her to like me like that, and she doesn't.

Sutter: Trust me. You don't want to be like me. I make jokes, yeah. But, I mean, you get s*** done. You're gonna change the world. You and Cass are perfect together. Trust me. You're just too tense, man. A little tense. You gotta loosen up. You know?

Marcus: Yeah. Maybe.

Sutter: Not everything has to be so serious. I'm just saying you can relax. You know? You're awesome. Enjoy being who you are. Live in the now.

Not only is this conversation a great subversion from where one would expect the confrontation to go, but it also beautifully defines who Sutter is—strengths and faults.  The Spectacular Now refers to Sutter’s mindset, a man that lives in the moment and makes the best of it.  Whatever that moment is he puts his all into it, whether it be partying, helping his friend get a date, or cheering up Marcus.  Being all about the now, however, comes with the price of not thinking nor caring about the future.  Sutter does not think about the consequences of his current actions, nor care for the consequences that life will inevitably bring.  He’s teenage Peter Pan in a way—never wanting to grow up, believing this to be the best time of his life.  When his math teacher asks if he even wants to graduate, Sutter honestly replies “I don't know. Everyone's telling me I gotta move on. I don't see what's so great about being an adult.”  Sutter does think about the past, however, such as his father who walked out of his life as a child (making Sutter’s relationship with Dan more meaningful than it initially seems) and Cassidy, who he is far from over.  His words to Marcus then are not entirely honest as there’s more between Sutter and Cassidy than he lets on and it’s doubtful he believes Marcus and Cassidy to be a perfect couple.  Sutter always says what he believes to be the best thing in the moment—whether or not he believes it or plans on following through in the future.

The next day Sutter heads over to Aimee's house for their tutoring session, the latter's nerdiness on full display when they get to her room.  I'm a bit of a sucker when it comes to fictional teenagers that are into manga, even when the manga’s portrayal isn’t necessarily accurate.  Yet The Spectacular Now handles Aimee's manga interest in a brilliant fashion that shouldn’t upset anybody because the manga in question doesn’t really exist.  Writer Michael Manning designed, scripted, and drew a six-page science-fiction shoujo-style manga called Gleaming Planet—the fictional series Aimee is into, complete with it being read right to left as Japanese comics are—just for the film.  It allows the writers to makeup and say whatever they want about the manga and be absolutely right because it’s their story.  

Discarding this real-life roadblock allows the writers to put full focus on what really matters here as Sutter picks up and reacts to the comic.  I love how Aimee immediately downplays her love for Gleaming Planet and calls it really weird.  It’s something I did many times throughout high school—restraining to completely denying my love for manga for fear of people judging me as weird (which I totally am and now wholly accept as a positive).  Woodley does a great job conveying the right expressions of insecurity and embarrassment at Sutter discovering her “thing”.  Yet nice guy Sutter displays not a hint of judgment, telling Aimee he embraces the weird and showing genuine interest in the comic.  At first, Sutter seems to be saying merely what Aimee would want to hear, but then he does something unusual for his character—going out and buying Gleaming Planet on his own initiative, giving it a read while alone in his house.

Yet complications arise when Cassidy contacts Sutter online—noting how she misses him.  Sutter ends up taking Aimee to an outdoor party that Cassidy happens to also be at.  The self-centered wheels in Sutter’s head begin to turn here as he tries to get his cake and eat it too.  Bringing Aimee to a party is a great way to help break her shell.  When she shows uncertainty about drinking alcohol—stating “I don’t really drink” which is insecure teenage code for “I’ve barely/never drank before but I don’t want to look lame by admitting it”—Sutter puts no direct peer pressure on her, instead advising to merely carry around a red solo cup to give the illusion she's drinking to fit in better with the crowd.  He then smoothly introduces Aimee to some nice guys who also read Gleaming Planet.  With Aimee comfortably discussing her hobbies with others, Sutter moves away to talk with Cassidy.  Plan success, except no because Marcus shows up and ends up leaving with Cassidy.

I’ve yet to discuss Miles Teller’s performance, and it is somewhat easy to overlook it when his co-star is displaying such a fantastic range (as I did in my initial review).  Yet Teller’s performance here is vital to the story’s effectiveness as it gives Sutter an extreme case of likability.  Writing a charismatic character is tricky enough, but effectively acting like one is a whole other level.  The key to Sutter’s success is Teller’s ability to make the audience fall for him despite the character’s less-desirable traits—and Teller wildly succeeds at doing so to the point where these traits are initially invisible.  All these faults I’ve been pointing out about Sutter comes from multiple viewings and analyzing the film for this review.  I barely noticed most of them on my first viewing, at least not until the final act.  My initial tackling of this review focused more on Sutter’s genuine kindness, and it wasn’t until I really broke apart his scenes that the more arrogant and self-centered aspects became clearer.  Yet Teller does such a good job making Sutter endearing and empathetic that I was as blind as Aimee to his issues.

Take how Teller fully conveys Sutter’s thoughts through non-verbal actions alone when Cassidy leaves.  There’s clear frustration as he downs a cup before lightly tossing another one in frustration (trying not to make a scene) before seeing another guy hitting it off with Aimee.  He looks longingly back at Cassidy, before sighing, taking a drink, and walking over to Aimee—stealing her for a walk as the other teen calls Sutter a “motherf***er” under his breath.  Everything Sutter’s doing here is arguably wrong—trying to steal Cassidy back while she’s dating, stringing Aimee along, showing envy when another guy tries flirting with Aimee despite ditching her at the party—but it’s all done in a very understandable and even relatable fashion.  Cassidy was, up until that point, the best thing that had ever happened to Sutter—and is making it hard for him to move on when she keeps contacting him with crazy mixed signals—so, naturally, he’s not easily letting it go.  Aimee is so contrasting from what he’s used to as well as his own personality that he’s further conflicted over whether she’s right for him.  And yet, there’s definitely something there that he likes about Aimee as it keeps pulling him back to her.  Teller does a great job conveying such wishy-washy feelings all in one non-verbal moment.

The walk scene between Sutter and Aimee is the best scene in the film and has a great bit of everything in it.  When I first saw The Spectacular Now, it was this scene that really stuck out for me (positively)—watching it again, the scene is so much better than I remembered.  It opens with Sutter dropping his red solo cup in favor of a pocket flask full of heavy liquor.  While Sutter has placed no direct peer pressure on Aimee, the passive act of him drinking is influence enough for the teen—desiring to fit in with her infatuation and impress him:

Aimee: Can I try that?

Sutter: What, this? This is pretty serious stuff.

Aimee: Just a taste.

Sutter: Are you sure? All right. Here you go. It's pretty strong.

Aimee: Aimee’s face completely puckers up in disgust Oh, my God. Ew.

Sutter: Yeah. I know! I told you.

Aimee: How do you drink that?

Sutter: I don't know. I've just been doing it for a while.

Sutter reveals it was his father who first gave him alcohol at around six-years-old when they would go to watch baseball games together.  Sutter shows pride over his father’s clearly irresponsible action—being his only true memory of his dad, with drinking being connected to a happier time when he was still in Sutter’s life.  When Aimee asks more about his father, Sutter makes up a lie about him being an airline pilot (hence why he’s never around).  Aimee reveals she was recently accepted to a college yet can't go because her mother needs her at home.  Sutter once again pushes her to stand up for herself, resulting in an adorkably funny scene where he tries coaching Aimee to tell her mom to “get off her motherf***ing back”.  Sweet, innocent Aimee initially can't bring herself to even practice say f*** when repeating the sentence, yet through Sutter’s amicable positivity—and a bit of liquid confidence—is able to boldly shout it out loud, albeit through a lot of giggling.

What makes this scene work so brilliantly is the level of improvisation between the two actors.  The scene is shot using one long camera take of Sutter and Aimee walking away from the party down a trail into the woods.  The scene is almost four minutes long, and while a script is being followed, there’s a clear amount of verbal and nonverbal improvisation going on.  This is one of James Ponsoldt’s major strengths as a director—allowing his actors to have flexibility and input for their characters and scenes.  It turned The End of the Tour from a good script to a great film and transforms this scene into a lovely display of teenagers naturally bonding in goofy awkwardness.  When Sutter pushes Aimee to shout her frustrations about other people, Teller continues ad-libbing on as her hype man—yelling additional obscenities as she shouts, causing the actors to both break into genuine chuckles.

The environment itself plays a wonderful part in the improv.  There's a moment where Sutter tries pushing Aimee to shout about ex-boyfriends that have pissed her off, only for her to reveal she’s never had any boyfriends.  All normal script behavior here, except Teller just happens to stop walking right below a tree branch with its leaves dangling in his hair.  Teller tries ignoring it, but Woodley becomes clearly distracted by the sight—trying to push the leaves out of his hair, causing both to laugh as Teller holds the branch away with his hand.  The script continues with Aimee noting how boys don’t look at her that way, while Sutter points out the previous guys who were just hitting on her.  Aimee continues bashfully denying that claim until Sutter moves in for a big damn kiss.

Two things.  First, Teller moves closer to Woodley—within her personal space—to get away from the leaves, giving the romantic occurrence a very natural progression.  Second, a clearly visible bug flies into frame just as they share the kiss—flying right into Teller’s ear.  Teller reactively goes to flick the bug away immediately after the kiss, causing Woodley to laugh and Teller to awkwardly chuckle as the scene cuts to black.  That’s how their first kiss ends, not with the pair romantically staring into each other’s eyes, but with a distracting bug and some uncertain laughs.  It’s incredibly sincere and true-to-life.  If I were a betting man, I’d wager the camera cuts to black quickly because the actors break character right around that moment from the increasingly goofy situation—yet the makers saw the potency in such genuineness and decided to keep the scene in.  If this is the case, then thank goodness they did.  These are real reactions from the actors that cannot be fully replicated again.  The scene is imperfectly perfect—with solid writing and effective camera work amplified by great acting and sprinkles of delightful realism.

LINK TO PART 3!!!