MovieChat Forums > The Spectacular Now (2013) Discussion > Seriously? What an awful film

Seriously? What an awful film

posted 11 years ago by joe3710
94 replies | jump to latest

I'm not on here to troll or deride this film without reason.

I have to say once in a long while does a movie come along that truly makes you scratch your head and wonder what the heck people must be smoking when they call a movie great. I'm truly stunned by this one.

Let me explain this criticism. So:

1) You have an unlikable obnoxious and unfunny male who treats life like a joke, drinks non-stop and is completely selfish and self-centered
2) You have a supposedly 'intelligent' girl who falls for this guy for the sole reason, as far as I can tell, that she wants to date one of the cool kids. He treats her like a door mat while getting drunk around her constantly. Did they have one honest moment together when he wasn't drinking? She seems to feed him booze because I guess those are the only times he's nice to her
3) There are no authentic scenes with them together. She seems to be his second choice the entire film. The ENTIRE film he is pursuing the blonde and would be WITH THE BLONDE IF SHE LET HIM, yet we are meant to root for this halfhearted joke of a relationship because she's apparently painfully desperate and he needs what to him is little more than an obvious distraction
4) He has daddy issues. Who honestly cares? 95% of the population has parental issues. Is this supposed to make it ok for him to act like a complete scum bag for 95% of the movie?
5) She never cares that any promises he makes her are while drinking? Seriously? How naive and innocent can a person be? Why does she love him? Hes decent looking and tells jokes and has zero substance? What the f---? What in the film exists that could make anyone buy into this relationship? Oh wait they both have parental issues. That makes it work. Riggghttt. He indirectly causes her to get hit by a car (Ha!) and that makes her love him more.
6) The 'first time' sex scene was completely unbelievable. As many guys and girls know the first time for a chick can be painful. Her face looked like she was getting a back rub. Totally(not surprisingly) fluffed up
7) So at the end he figures 'hey maybe I am a total jerk off, maybe I should work on that' and the audience is supposed to say 'Aw he cried to his mom, thats so emotional, he wants to be better' and people buy this nonsense?
8) Everything from the direction to the soundtrack to the pacing to the acting was completely lackluster. Snobs call this understated I guess right?

Seriously. That isn't even it. I could go on, and on and on about this one.

Anyone who lists this movie among the top of the year is on another planet. I guess its that easy for people to 'drink the koolaid'. I can't fathom any other explanation for it. I'd welcome any counter arguments because I am lost on this one. Truly, TRULY awful film and story on so many levels. Treats its characters and audience like children.

1 out of 10. Easy.

[–] Flabrezu 11 years ago

You have no understanding of life.

[–] ethermusic1981 11 years ago

You have no grasp on reality.

[–] Flabrezu 11 years ago

I own more suits than your dad.

[–] ethermusic1981 11 years ago

I'm sure you do. My dad only owns one suit and it was the suit he was buried in.

[–] Flabrezu 11 years ago

I'm very successful in life.

[–] ethermusic1981 11 years ago

Have a cookie.

[–] Flabrezu 11 years ago

Yes, I sometimes buy expensive cookies with my wealth.

[–] ethermusic1981 11 years ago

Haha piss off, Richie Rich

[–] Flabrezu 11 years ago

I apologise. My success has gone to my head.

[–] ch-c-carter 11 years ago

There's really no point in arguing with kids who think they are cooler than they really are. There's a delusional thread where someone thought this would be nominated for an Oscar. Spoiler alert - it wasn't.

[–] 11 years ago

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[–] 11 years ago

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[–] risks92 11 years ago

So basically I could probably argue on almost every point you made, but I am too lazy so let's start with 1st and there is quite much in that already.

You have an unlikable obnoxious and unfunny male

My thought is that these qualities were only shown at the opening scenes of film, where he talks about himself, however even here he does not only about himself, he mostly talks about how 'they' were awesome and how 'they' were great. And there is none to blame, they kinda were.

who treats life like a joke,

What did you expect form movie "The Spectacular Now"? He lives for now, and that is what movie shows.
Also from realism thing there were quite few this kind of people when I was in high-school, so I could easily relate to it.

drinks non-stop

Yes, he drinks non-stop, which makes him what he is, have you ever been drunk/tipsy, imagine you being in that mind set all the time? Does not that fit the 'life like a joke' thing?
And of course he has a problem, a big one, but that is not what movie is about.
In movie there is given a reason why he drinks/how he started.

and is completely selfish and self-centered

And here you are just plain wrong. He is so freakishly unselfish, that it might be the most unrealistic part of the whole movie. He helps his friend get girlfriend, he wants to help girl who has harsh mother, after understanding that he and Cassidy wants different things, he helps his boyfriend gain confidence (which he really seemed to need). Also trying to get better at math, not for himself(as he does not get why he needs it, and he does not really want for school to end), but for his teacher.

Lastly I wanted to say what I didn't like about the movie ,was how this selfishness and him not wanting to be like his father was kinda fed to me, although I and anyone who understood the movie(well maybe I misunderstood it completely) already got the whole thing and the ending could have been something better.

[–] birdparade 11 years ago

I the deleted scenes Aimee admits she had sex one other time, though the situation was not ideal. That explains issue 6.

[–] kidjay83 11 years ago

hit the nail on the head there was nothing spectacular about this film or its actors.

Only when society changes will the culture change "

[–] jasminka26 11 years ago

This movie with all its garbage ruined my day. I've been actively trying to recover from it all day, to shake off all that garbage it poured onto me. Thank you for taking the time to write this, it helped with the recovery.

[–] IL_Maestro 11 years ago

i liked the movie, at the beginning it was really nice
then later it got weird, had few issues with it
like how he is so nice to her, he wants to be with her as she is his rebound but why was he actually that nice to her?
wanting to be with someone is one thing but treating her as a princess was another
he seemed to care so much abt her feelings, although with his friend he talked abt her like he was her friend
also for a person who doesn't want to hurt others he wouldn't wanna be with her thinking she is gonna leave him pretty soon, girls like her r not the girls u wanna be with when u think of urself as living in the moment and not caring
u would want to be friends with her but won't kiss her or have sex with her
also how come he is so nice to her when they r together but yet after first kiss he starts avoiding her?
her friend didn't shake hands with him and was angry at him, it makes sense when he is the type of guy who wouldn't really care for girls like Aimee but he does without a reason!
his friend talked abt her falling for him, although his friend was less experienced but he got that one right while Sutter didn't
he had a nice relationship with his mom despite he hated that she didn't want him to know his father, after he figured out how is father was, he gets mad at his mom!
I think it should've been the other way around, he should've hated her and then the relationship gets better when he finds out abt his father
I didn't laugh at anything he said but he so much fun, the kind of person I would like to talk to when I see but not really care much abt him
what Marcus said to him at his work in the end of the conversation was very good, he is not the joke they thought he was
she said she had no ex-bf and it seemed her first time to have sex which was ok as it doesn't have to be painful when the guy is experienced as Sutter but then I read that she had sex once b4 that and it is not shown in the movie
I liked the movie but there were few things that needed further explanation to me
I liked the end though, he owed her a conversation after he stood her up like that and they didn't have to stay together.

"It is never about what happened, it is only how you look at it!"