The Spectacular Now Analysis

Here's the thing about the setting in The Spectacular Now: the fact that it takes place in modern-day Oklahoma is not that big of a deal. Sure, Sutter mentions various places where he parties there...

This story is totally told from Sutter's point of view. It's like the Sutterman himself is sitting next to you at a bar, giving you the scoop on what's been going on with him. That gives us awesome...

The Spectacular Now is like a coming-of-age novel that stalls out on the exit ramp to adulthood. Sutter fits the profile of a coming-of-age protagonist—a kid having to come to terms with growing...

Sutter Keely, our narrator and main character, is as oblivious as they come. He's only focused on his own thoughts and feelings and desires, and so he either completely misses or grossly misunderst...

Have you ever talked to someone who was a little drunk? We hope not—so just take our word for it: Sutter's style of narration is exactly like having a chat with someone who's tipsy. He tells the...

"The Spectacular Now": sounds wild and exciting, right? Eh, not so much. There's a reason your parents keep telling you to think about your future: the older Sutter gets, the more destructive the c...

Depressed. Hopeless. Frustrated. That's what you feel when you finish The Spectacular Now, right? This sure a feel-good story, even though "spectacular" is right there in the title.See, our protago...

The Spectacular Now is like a cross between the internal monologue you've got running in your head and an SAT vocab test. (Unless you're an SAT whiz, in which case it should sound pretty familiar....

It's the Sutter Keely Show!In the exposition, we get to know Sutter, his girlfriend Cassidy, his buddy Ricky, his boss Bob, and his family. In that order. Which is, interestingly enough, also the o...

The screenplay for The Spectacular Now was written by the same dream team who did 500 Days of Summer. (Source) No one wanted to produce the movie at first. Even though the script was totally aweso...

This is definitely not a book for the kiddies. On top of the multiple sex scenes, Sutter likes to get gritty and real with us about other details, too, like letting us know how turned on he is or t...

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