The Spectacular Now (2013)

2/5

The Spectacular Now is a depressing and infuriating film. It stars Miles Teller as an alcoholic high school student who has confidence and charisma but no plans or hopes for his future. After being dumped by his "hot" girlfriend (Larson), he befriends an "unattractive" girl (Woodley) and she is smitten by his charms. They begin a romance that everybody around them knows is bad for both of them. Instead of some introspection, they just keep chugging along and enjoying the oh-so-spectacular moment.

I'm not really sure what the point of the movie is. It presents itself as a coming-of-age tale but nobody actually learns anything or comes of age. It's frustrating and painful to watch. Shailene Woodley gives a superb performance, emanating high school vulnerability as she is drawn to the debonair Teller, who also gives a stunning performance. But the rest of the technical aspects of the movie are either mediocre or subpar. Underage alcohol consumption in films should come with consequences, and this movie all but pretends there are none. (Or there are some, but then it gives the characters "second chances" without anybody learning anything.)

And just to complain some more: I'm still not clear why there needs to be any voice-over, at any point during this movie, given the fact that there is nothing particularly insightful that needs to be passed on to the audience. By the way, the college essay motif has been so entirely overplayed that it is hard to imagine that even an amazing movie could bring something new to the table. Avoid this movie, unless you're a rabid fan of Woodley and/or Teller's acting.

IMDb link: http://www.imdb.com/title/tt1714206/

Don Jon (2013)

3/5

Joseph Gordon-Levitt's Don Jon is a bold directorial debut that succeeds on many fronts but doesn't fully satisfy. The movie stars Gordon-Levitt as a New Jersey twenty-something whose life revolves around a few things. One of them is online porn. His hook-up, Johansson, questions why he would watch porn when he can have "the real thing." And the movie spends a fair amount of time trying to answer that very question. It's actually an interesting one, one I think perhaps might be better served by a documentary-style investigation rather than writerly musings.

As far as the plot goes, it's a fairly predictable, well-worn story arc without a bunch of surprises. Gordon-Levitt infuses the movie with humorous ironies (I love his road rage when he's going to church) that make it feel fresh and fun. But the movie also has plenty of annoyances. For one, Gordon-Levitt's hair is horrific. It is eye-searing. And their New Jersey accents grind through your eardrum and drill into your brain. The subject matter is still somewhat unseemly for many people, and the movie isn't nearly charming enough to overpower their disgust.

IMDb link: http://www.imdb.com/title/tt2229499/

21 Jump Street (2012)

4/5

I didn't know this going in, but 21 Jump Street is a comic adaptation of an 80's police procedural TV show about cops who go undercover into high schools and colleges because of their youthful appearances. In this 2012 version, best friends Jenko (Tatum) and Schmidt (Hill) are sent into the undercover unit at 21 Jump Street, aka the Aroma of Christ Korean church, with the mission of infiltrating a drug ring that has popped up at a local high school. Jenko is excited to relive his glory days, but soon discovers that the status symbols and hierarchy that put him on top have completely reversed compared to 7 years prior. Now the environmentally-friendly vegans (Franco, Larson) are the cool kids, and Schmidt realizes he may finally get a second chance at high school popularity.

To put it simply, the movie is awesome. It is one of the funniest I've seen recently, on par with the best of Judd Apatow (and in the same raunchy, irreverent style). It pokes fun of endless remakes, of the action comedy genre, and especially of itself. It spends no time on character development and no time on plot progression. Instead it spends 100% of the time on comedy, and it more than pays off in the jokes department. However, it doesn't try to make a point, and therefore it doesn't have the same potential as the best comedies in terms of staying power. But this movie is spectacularly funny, and I cannot recommend it enough.

IMDb link: http://www.imdb.com/title/tt1232829/