On Aug. 2, Shailene Woodley's Sundance winner "The Spectacular Now" comes to theaters in limited release.
The film tells the story of a hard-partying high school senior whose life changes when he meets a not-so-typical "nice girl."
The film premiered at the Sundance Film festival where it was nominated for the Grand Jury award and won the special jury prize for acting. Critics also praised the movie for its performances and story. Owen Gleiberman of Entertainment Weekly said: "'The Spectacular Now' was adapted from a novel by Tim Tharp, and that's part of what accounts for its rich and exploratory psychological texture, but it's also not afraid of being an all-out teen movie."
Variety's Rob Nelson wrote, "This bittersweet ode to the moment of childhood's end builds quietly to a pitch-perfect finale."
James Rocchi from MSN movies stated, "'The Spectacular Now' is a finely-made, assured and deeply felt film that still has hope and love in it, precisely because it understands, and shows, what hope and love cost."
David Edelstein from New York Magazine said, "Most teen movies are cocktails of melancholy and elation. This one is best at its most un-transcendent-when it most evokes that period when we never knew what we were supposed to do with the pain."
David Denby from the New Yorker wrote, "Most of it has the melancholy sense of life just passing by -- until, that is, someone has the courage to grab it and make it take some meaning and form."
The movie is directed by James Ponsoldt ("Smash") and also stars Miles Tellers ("Divergent"), Mary Elizabeth Winstead ("Smash") Brie Larson ("Short term 12"), Kyle Chandler ("Zero Dark Thirty"), and Jennifer Johnson Leigh ("Margot at the Wedding'). A24 will release the movie in four theaters and is rated R for alcohol use, language and some sexuality - all involving teens.
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