The Spectacular Now 2013

Todd McCarthy, Hollywood Reporter: A sincere, refreshingly unaffected look at teenagers and their attitudes about the future. Read more

Jocelyn Noveck, Associated Press: A pure gem of a teen romance graced with sparkling acting by its young leads, Miles Teller and Shailene Woodley, as high-school seniors falling awkwardly in love. Read more

Owen Gleiberman, Entertainment Weekly: The Spectacular Now was adapted from a novel by Tim Tharp, and that's part of what accounts for its rich and exploratory psychological texture, but it's also not afraid of being an all-out teen movie. Read more

Nicolas Rapold, New York Times: Mr. Ponsoldt ably charts a journey through the high stakes of adolescence, with both Sutter and Mr. Teller showing great promise. Read more

David Edelstein, New York Magazine/Vulture: Most teen movies are cocktails of melancholy and elation. This one is best at its most un-transcendent-when it most evokes that period when we never knew what we were supposed to do with the pain. Read more

Joe Morgenstern, Wall Street Journal: "The Spectacular Now," which was directed by James Ponsoldt, is a movie of uns-unforced, unhurried, unpretentious. Read more

Claudia Puig, USA Today: A wryly funny, compassionate and wise portrait of teens on the cusp of adulthood. Read more

Moira MacDonald, Seattle Times: James Ponsoldt's "The Spectacular Now" hits on something few movies do: an honest, believable depiction of teenagers, in love and out. Read more

James Rocchi, MSN Movies: The Spectacular Now is a finely-made, assured and deeply felt film that still has hope and love in it, precisely because it understands, and shows, what hope and love cost. Read more

Rob Nelson, Variety: This bittersweet ode to the moment of childhood's end builds quietly to a pitch-perfect finale. Read more

A.A. Dowd, AV Club: That these moments end up feeling more true than false, as if torn from a diary and not a screenwriting handbook, is thanks principally to the actors bringing them to life. Read more

Bill Goodykoontz, Arizona Republic: It feels real, its emotions earned. It shies away from the Big Dramatic Moment for the most part, instead doling out little victories and small defeats, which is similar to the way most of us experienced our teen years. Read more

Ty Burr, Boston Globe: A cleareyed, disarmingly tender teenage romance that bears comparison with the best of its genre, both old ("Say Anything") and new ("The Perks of Being a Wallflower"). Read more

Andrea Gronvall, Chicago Reader: [A] nuanced and unsentimental coming-of-age film. Read more

Michael Phillips, Chicago Tribune: Woodley is genuinely wonderful in it. And Teller's right behind her. Read more

Peter Rainer, Christian Science Monitor: James Ponsoldt, who directed from a script by Michael H. Weber and Scott Neustadter, is a bit too glib to do justice to this material, but the young actors, especially Woodley, are quite fine. Read more

Lisa Kennedy, Denver Post: So many films featuring teens seem overstimulated or familiar. This one strikes a deep, rich note and holds it. Read more

Adam Graham, Detroit News: Teller and Woodley hum together, and the movie does their performances justice. Read more

Jordan Hoffman, Film.com: "The Spectacular Now" wins a lot of points for avoiding conventional scenes Read more

Betsy Sharkey, Los Angeles Times: [A] culturally astute drama, spiked with enough comedy to make it splendidly intoxicating to watch. Read more

Rene Rodriguez, Miami Herald: This adaptation of Tim Tharp's novel, directed with delicate restraint by James Ponsoldt, sneaks up on you. It makes you laugh, then it breaks your heart. Read more

David Denby, New Yorker: Most of it has the melancholy sense of life just passing by -- until, that is, someone has the courage to grab it and make it take some meaning and form. Read more

Joe Neumaier, New York Daily News: The focus in James Ponsoldt's affecting, intelligent drama is a pair of teenagers, and in them is so much complexity and heart that this casually paced gem feels rich in scope. Read more

Kyle Smith, New York Post: The fast-talking but increasingly insufferable Teller ... displays little ability to modulate his performance as the movie gradually turns darker and darker ... Read more

Michael Sragow, Orange County Register: The Spectacular Now is zesty, funny, sad, and wise beyond its characters' years. Read more

Steven Rea, Philadelphia Inquirer: The Spectacular Now captures the exhilaration and confusion, longing and dread of young romance with raw honesty and insight. Nothing rings false, nothing feels "cute." Read more

James Berardinelli, ReelViews: The two leads, Miles Teller's Sutter Keely and Shailene Woodley's Aimee Finicky are so well drawn and believably portrayed that it's impossible not to accept them as real. Read more

Roger Ebert, RogerEbert.com: Here is a lovely film about two high school seniors who look, speak and feel like real 18-year-old middle-American human beings. Do you have any idea how rare that is? Read more

Peter Travers, Rolling Stone: James Ponsoldt's funny and touching coming-of-age tale covers old ground with disarming freshness... By taking it slow, The Spectacular Now takes a piece out of you. Read more

Andrew O'Hehir, Salon.com: It often bugged me while I was watching it, but I couldn't stop thinking about it afterwards, which made it an awful lot like observing someone else's flawed love affair in real life. Read more

Mick LaSalle, San Francisco Chronicle: Fairly close to great, a lovely movie about young people that is in no way a formula picture. Original, truthful and moving: It's not about the phenomenon of being young, but about the particular characters, who are as specific and vivid as actual people. Read more

Dana Stevens, Slate: Remarkable for the ease with which it positions itself outside this arena of aggressively stylized self-differentiation. Read more

Colin Covert, Minneapolis Star Tribune: The film is engrossing all the way through, the sweetest, saddest, most humane movie I've seen all year. Read more

Joe Williams, St. Louis Post-Dispatch: This coming-of-age movie should appeal to smart, sensitive young people who haven't been exposed to the better examples of the genre. Read more

Richard Roeper, Chicago Sun-Times: In The Spectacular Now, the high school seniors look and talk like actual high school seniors. Read more

Liam Lacey, Globe and Mail: By the end of The Spectacular Now, you're not quite ready to let these characters go. Read more

Linda Barnard, Toronto Star: It's rare hybrid: a movie that can find an audience among both adults and teens. Read more

Joshua Rothkopf, Time Out: You watch the movie with your heart in your throat ... Read more

Alan Scherstuhl, Village Voice: Hey, Hollywood can still do romance! Read more

Stephanie Merry, Washington Post: The movie captures the raw excitement and heartbreak of adolescence so completely that it manages to replace a seen-it-all jaded heart with the butterflies that accompany fresh experiences. Read more