The trailer doesn't do it justice. But for those interested, there it is.
They're clearly going for a Hughesian type of teenage coming-of-age here, and for the most part, it works. It's primarily due to Teller and Woodley, both of whom have never been better, and the script, which nimbly dodges most of the pratfalls of the genre.
It's not breaking new ground, but it doesn't hit most of the tired teen film tropes you're accustomed to. I was surprised that the film surprised me.
I could gripe, especially about how Woodley a couple of times seems "too" perfect (far too many coming-of-age films have female characters who seem to be saintly saviors as opposed to flesh and blood), but on the whole the film is rich and heartfelt. Absolutely worth seeing.
ever since "Perks...", I'm giving more of these movies a chance to surprise me. and I loved Woodley in The Descendants (slight eye-roll at her not feeling attractive enough for high school in the trailer).
Frank Longo Member since Nov 18th 2003 86672 posts
Fri Jul-26-13 12:17 PM
3. "His mini-Vince-Vaughn routine has bugged me in the past..." In response to Reply # 2
... and truth be told, some of that same shtick is on full display here. However, the character's depth allows him to dig deeper, past the fast-talk and down into why he acts that way.
Dude is a great actor-- I remember first seeing him in Rabbit Hole and being pretty blown away (there's no fast talk there at ALL). However, since he's kind of like his character in real life, it's not surprising that he's landed most every young shmoozer role the last couple of years.
9. "one of the best films of the year" In response to Reply # 0
Redeeming my faith in film this season. Like posted previous, the trailer doesn't do it justice. I think I heard someone make the comment "this generation's Breakfast Club." As silly as that sounds, I'd have to agree. Make a point to see it in theatres.
"Your current frequencies of understanding outweigh that which has been given for you to understand." Saul Williams
11. "purposefully stuck in a moment." In response to Reply # 0
high school is the time we seem most caught up in our immediate tense. how many life-or-death moments at 17 were embarrassingly unimportant in retrospect? it makes for a perfect backdrop here, where fucked up pasts and impending fate leave nothing but the now to care about.
Teller is fantastic. he does emulate Vince Vaughn's style, but with the tears of a clown and more empathy (a friendly no-comment on Woodley's nerdy addictions, instead of teasing or mocking). the totality of his performance only gets better as more is revealed.
Woodley flirts with the MPDG archetype, but all is forgiven as a counterpoint to Teller. she is the child that doesn't become the copy of either broken parent, the naive teenager filled with love but nobody previously to give it to. a dreamer, yes, but by the end her characterization is left extremely wide open.
(semi-spoiler)
this is also one of the better takes on alcoholism I've seen. drinking is a reliable way to constrict time to the present -- a needed crutch for those who can't stand to see what's behind or in front of them.
a confident, fully realized movie that is one of the year's best.
12. "really, really good" In response to Reply # 0
was hard not to feel wrapped up in these characters given how spot-on the acting and writing were for them. In fact the chick behind me kept commenting "oh no, don't do it" everytime Aimee would get a sip of liquor, and it didn't even annoy me that much. Teller is great, really great in a role that manages to be both showy and understated. Woodley is very good too, and I liked that her relationship to Teller had a destructive edge without being over-the-top. All the side roles were good too, casting was not too shabby (with Winstead and Royo doing the most of their limited screen time). Pretty good cinematography, for some reason I was afraid this would be another instagramey-type indie but it wasn't. Looking forward to what Ponsoldt has up his sleeve next, hopefully it's not alcohol-related so he doesn't get pigeonholed.
------------------------------ For the record, my teams: MLB: Mets / Soccer: PSG NCAA BB: Arizona / NCAA FB: Michigan NBA: Spurs / NFL: Jets
13. "Agreed. One of the year's best. " In response to Reply # 0
Pretty much agree with what everyone else has to say. Kyle Chandler did a great job with his role. Teller and Woodley were great and I liked seeing Bubbles and the girl from Justified pop up in a small role. I thought it was a little too centered on Teller's character and didn't build up everyone else enough. I felt like they tried to get away with it with Woodley's character by having her say that she wasn't a type that she was more than one thing, but then they didn't really give her much besides that she liked comic books and her mom wasn't much of a mom.
Still, a second echelon teen drama that I think works for people of all ages and definitely worth checking out.
14. "Shit was good. Nothing groundbreaking. I don't get all the hype." In response to Reply # 0
Outside of the direction and the two leads I thought this was okay. To be honest seeing as this is getting raves just goes to show how weak this year's been.
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