9.15.2013

Movie Review: The Spectacular Now


My Review:


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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