The Spectacular Now
Sutter Keely (Miles Teller) is a high school senior, charming and self-possessed. He is the life of the party and loves his job at a men's clothing store. However, he has no plans for the future and is a budding alcoholic, which causes his girlfriend, Cassidy (Brie Larson), who is unable to cope, to dump him. Drinking to numb his pain, Sutter passes out on a stranger's lawn, but is awakened the next morning by Aimee Finicky (Shailene Woodley), a girl who wears no makeup and reads science fiction and manga during her free time. Sutter helps her with her paper route and ultimately invites her to lunch and asks her to teach him geometry to get closer to her.
Sutter invites Aimee to a party, but temporarily loses interest when he sees Cassidy. Sutter asks her to have a drink with him, but Cassidy soon leaves with her new boyfriend Marcus (Dayo Okeniyi), so Sutter returns to Aimee. The two go for a walk, where Sutter introduces Aimee to alcohol and Aimee brings up getting accepted into a college in Philadelphia, though she does not feel she will be able to go as she must take care of her demanding mother. Sutter teaches Aimee to stand up to her mom and the two kiss.
When he wakes up the next morning, Sutter realizes that he asked Aimee to prom while drunk and instant messages Cassidy to hang out. Cassidy breaks down, tearfully telling Sutter that she can no longer avoid her future and that she needs to grow up, even if he does not. Marcus later confronts Sutter about what is going on with him and Cassidy, though Sutter reassures him that Cassidy is done with him. Marcus says she does not like him in the way she liked Sutter, but Sutter tells him that he should not try to be like him. Marcus thanks Sutter for his advice.
Sutter, lacking the commitment to take Aimee to prom, avoids her until Aimee's friend Krystal (Kaitlyn Dever) tells him not to treat Aimee badly as she is a genuinely good person. Sutter, taking her advice, asks Aimee to dinner with his married sister Holly (Mary Elizabeth Winstead), where Aimee talks frankly about the death of her father and her dreams of a perfect marriage, charming everyone, including Sutter. Sutter and Aimee begin to get serious, having sex for the first time, and Sutter buys Aimee a flask as a gift when they attend prom. Despite a moment where Sutter dances with Cassidy, their night goes well, and she tells him that she stood up to her mom and is going to Philadelphia, inviting him to live with her and attend a junior college.
After numerous attempts to get his father's phone number from his mom (Jennifer Jason Leigh), Sutter retrieves it from his sister and plans to spend a day with his dad. Bringing Aimee with him, they meet him at a motel just as he is leaving for the bar, inviting the two to join him. Sutter's father (Kyle Chandler) shares similar hedonistic views of life as Sutter, but after revealing that he left his mother (instead of being kicked out as Sutter had thought previously), he leaves to go off with a woman. Sutter is forced to pay the tab and wait for his dad to return, but after waiting for an hour, they return to the bar to see that Sutter's dad has forgotten about them and is back to drinking with his friends. Aimee attempts to comfort Sutter, confessing her love for him, but Sutter, angry and drunk, snaps at her and forces her to get out of the car, where she is hit by an oncoming car.
Aimee comes out with only a broken arm and forgives Sutter for the incident, but the experiences with his father has clearly damaged Sutter as his drinking worsens. After graduation, Cassidy informs Sutter she is going to California with Marcus. Sutter suggests he pay them a visit, but Cassidy declines, telling him she must stay out of his influence for her own good. His boss, Dan (Bob Odenkirk) tells him that he will be letting go of one of his clerks and informs Sutter that he wants him to work at the store, but Sutter must promise never to become intoxicated again. Sutter honestly states that he does not feel he is capable of keeping such a promise and shakes a disappointed and concerned Dan's hand. He then goes out for a night at the bar, leaving a heartbroken Aimee to get on the bus to Philadelphia by herself.
Sutter crashes into his mailbox after a night of heavy drinking and tearfully breaks down in front of his mom, saying he is exactly like his father and that he is an awful person, but his mother assures Sutter he is not like his father as he has the biggest heart of anyone she knows. Finally able to recognize that he is his own greatest limitation, Sutter finishes his college application and commits himself to becoming a more mature and responsible person. He drives to Philadelphia and finds Aimee as she is leaving class. As the two stare at each other, the screen cuts to black.
romantic, realism, storytelling, flashback