Keep this in the chat thread in case you need to refer to some specific scenes in the movies. pretty much the entirety of The Spectacular Now consists of drinking
scenes. This time round there wasn’t just drinking at a party like in the previous romcoms,
but there was drinking in the car, during work at the store, at the parties, at the bars,
everywhere.

I found it very interesting how the movie opened with Sutter calling himself “the life of the
party,” continuing to tell us how everybody loved him. It was interesting to me because,
despite Sutter barely making it through classes, on the verge of failing, being a full blown
alcoholic, with no future set up for himself, everybody wanted to be like him. It made me
reflect upon the standards we set for ourselves: it is okay to be failing inside, as long as you
look ‘cool’ on the outside by putting up a false pretence.

Moreover, unlike The Kissing Booth which was a very obvious surface level title about the
physical kissing booth in the movie, the title, ‘The Spectacular Now’ had a deeper, more
nuanced meaning. I had seen this movie before and never really payed too much heed to the
title. But this time round, I realised that the title indicates Sutter’s mentality of living in the
‘now.’ He relishes in living every moment to the fullest without any thought for the future.

This movie particularly stood out to me from the others because it showcased a love story but
from a completely different perspective. Unlike the regular romcoms which showcase fairy
tale experiences, this showed the dark side of teenage growing up. When Sutter was writing
to the Dean of Admissions at the very beginning, he says, “we had this connection” while
describing his relationship with his ex-girlfriend Cassidy. The very next scene is him
replaying their hook-up in his mind. Ironically, we see how hooking up is what he called a
real “connection.” Not only does it seem shallow but it realistically does shed some light on a
lot of teenagers thinking an attitudes towards hook-ups. Many teenagers today feel that before
establishing a real emotional connect, a physical connect is important. It made me wonder
why we think like this? What has influenced us to think like this? Is it the movies we’re
watching or the social media we are exposed to or just the people we talk with? Therefore, we

notice how this movie makes a clear distinction between love and lust. The beginning hook-
up scene shows lust between Sutter and Cassidy while, the scene of Aimee and Sutter having

This study source was downloaded by 100000859195430 from CourseHero.com on 01-01-2024 17:07:32 GMT -06:00
https://www.coursehero.com/file/81711498/reflection-3docx/

sex displays love. The music is much slower in that scene, with a more intimate connection,
showcasing this love.

Additionally, I noticed how Aimee inwardly felt pressured to change who she was for Sutter
to like her. Aimee Finicky was the good girl, the quiet girl, the smart yet absolutely
unnoticeable girl. This movie did an excellent job at presenting the insecurities that lie below
the surface of someone so externally simple. Yet as Sutter entered her life, we watched little
transformations develop: she became more outspoken and self-confident, true. But she also
was thrust onto a path of drinking and emotional dependence. Aimee compromised parts of
her identity in order to support the boy she loved. Being a teenager myself, growing up in a
city like Mumbai, a city known as the “city that never sleeps” because of its partying culture,
where teenagers are the most prominent members of clubs and bars, initially I felt like Aimee:
hesitant to enter such places, drink with my friends, and dance in front of everyone, but due
to the environment and the social pressure, I felt obligated to go to these parties in a fear that
I might become the outcast.

While, I enjoyed this movie way more than the previous two because of its different, realistic,
coming of age story, I found one major flaw. I noticed how it sets this unrealistic expectation
that when the right woman comes into your life, she will change you from a beast to a prince.
For the people that watch a movie like this, it may possibly make them feel like they can
really change someone they’re in a relationship with. That goes the same for someone on the
other end. It may make someone want someone else in their lives to so that they can be
changed. That feeling to want to be changed could be due to them hurting others around them
in the past emotionally, or them coming to realization that they don’t like what they’ve
become. While it looks so easy in a movie, it really isn’t and this could definitely be harmful
to those who take films like these to heart.

Additionally, may it be Drinking Buddies or The Spectacular Now, all the romantic
relationships commence with drinking. This reminded me of the article where it was found
that, “drinking builds intimacy, particularly when similar levels of intoxication are achieved.”
In the Drinking Buddies, before Chris and Jill kiss each other, they both were drinking wine.
Similarly, in the Spectacular now, whether it was Sutter hooking up with his ex-girlfriend,
Cassidy after having a couple drinks at the party, or whether it was him drinking out of his
flask before having sex with Aimee, there is always alcohol involved. This made me question

This study source was downloaded by 100000859195430 from CourseHero.com on 01-01-2024 17:07:32 GMT -06:00
https://www.coursehero.com/file/81711498/reflection-3docx/

if things would be different if there was no alcohol consumption in these scenes? Would the
kiss have happened? Would Chris and Kate breakup?

Overall, I related more to The Spectacular Now than Drinking Buddies because of being a
teenager. Drinking buddies was about adults of a working age facing work problems, going to
the bar after work, going on double dates, which is not a common thing amongst teenagers.
On the other hand, the realistic depiction of Sutter’s inner conflict in The Spectacular Now
made the movie more relatable.