I went and saw The Spectacular Now earlier today. (Finally!)
I’m going to say something I never say about book to movie adaptations… I liked
the movie better than the book. Yes. I did just say that.
See, I liked The Spectacular Now as a book (my review can be
found here). I didn’t love it, but I still enjoyed it. But the movie? It was
absolutely wonderful.
There were a ton of changes – mainly the ending and Aimee’s
character – but the changes actually worked. They worked because The Spectacular
Now is a character driven story. And even though movie Aimee was different than
book Aimee, I still feel as though the relationship between Sutter and Aimee
was captured accurately. That pain, that uncertainty was captured perfectly. It
was raw. It was real. And I loved every minute of it.
I was surprised at the ending of the movie. It varied
significantly from the book, and I was a bit put off by it at first, because I
felt that the ending in the book was right for Sutter and Aimee. But after the
movie ended and the credits began rolling, I realized that I preferred the
ending of the movie to the book. The ending was hopeful, and these characters
deserved a bit of hope, and a chance at redemption. The movie gave them just
that.
If you didn’t care for the book, don’t skip over the movie.
I promise you, it’s worth seeing. All of the hype you’ve been hearing? The talk
of the wonderful performances by the leads? It’s all true.
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