Teen Movies: The Class Of 2013
From the Prom Couple to the Most Likely To Succeed, let's look back at the best and worst of this year's graduating class.
Outstanding Achievement: The Spectacular Now
In a year brimming with adaptations and ironic nostalgia, James Ponsoldt’s The Spectacular Now was a genuine, heartfelt teen release. In fact, it’s the best teen film in a long time. Beyond festival awards and critical acclaim, what it has achieved is indeed outstanding.
Graduating from the John Hughes/Cameron Crowe school of teen movies, The Spectacular Now follows the lives (and romance) of two high school seniors — Sutter (Miles Teller) and Aimee (Shailene Woodley) — brought together in an affecting yet unaffected way. It’s easily the Best Newcomer to the teen film canon due to its perfect pace, humour and heart.
The extraordinary performances here also earn The Spectacular Now the Best Double Act of the year. Teller and Woodley kill it, sensitively portraying the colliding feelings of timidity and confidence, displacement and longing felt in those late teen years or with your first love.
It’s not all love-hearts and holding hands, though. The Spectacular Now presents relevant, serious issues with a level of subtle intelligence that evades an overly preachy (and often unavoidable) ‘after school special’ vibe. In addition to one of the most honest teen sex scenes ever presented, Sutter’s alcoholism is deftly portrayed; his drinking is present and rarely discussed but intensely felt. There’s no flashing neon sign telling you “Drugs Are Bad!”, and it’s great. Actually, Sutter’s lush party boy ways out (moon)shine Haymitch Abernathy from Hunger Games — Sutter is easily the Biggest Wisecracking Boozehound of the 2013 teen movie class.
Coming Up: Most Likely To Succeed…