The Spectacular Now Review - 3½ Stars

Miles Teller makes us care about his high school kid who drinks too much.  Awaking one morning in a stranger’s front yard, he meets fellow classmate Shailene Woodley, who keeps to herself.  They quietly begin a friendship that turns into relationship.  And we learn about his family life and the missing father who may contribute to the kid’s drinking.  Shailene Woodley follows a great performance in “The Descendants” with a painfully believable one as a teenaged girl not quite sure of herself.  Teller and Woodley spark great chemistry together.  You care about the two of them enough that the story gives you a jolt as it progresses. This coming of age tale rises above the usual.  It will stay with you long after you leave the theater.  Does it deliver what it promises?  Teenage romance turns life changing.  Is it entertaining?  Makes you care about the characters.  Is it worth the price of admission?  One of the year’s best indies.