We’ve had the cinematic renaissance of comic book movies, young adult novel adaptations and R-rated comedies in recent years, but one recurring element in film that’s gone relatively unnoticed is the resurgence of what I like to call “John Hughes” movies. Similar to that director’s cinematic delights such as “Ferris Bueller’s Day Off” and “The Breakfast Club,” several recent films have taken a more realistic and fascinating portrait of teenagers. “The Perks of Being A Wallflower” and “The Way, Way Back” have been fantastic movies that depicted such stories, and now “The Spectacular Now” firmly joins those two as another brilliant film, with this one maybe being the best of them all.

With such exclamations as YOLO being created by modern day teenagers, many people in my generation are likely to go by the mantra of living in the moment. Sutter Keely (Miles Teller) takes such an ideal to the extreme, thanks to his multiple short-sighted decisions and his slacker attitude at school. A chance meeting with a girl named Aimiee Finecky (Shailene Woodley) soon turns both of their lives around, sometimes for the better and other times for the worse.

The complexity shown in the characters is endlessly fascinating, with many of the film’s best moments boiling down to little more than conversations between Aimiee and Sutter. These conversations allow the writers to showcase what a juxtaposition these two are in terms of attitude and actions, while how remarkably alike they remain in one massive similarity; they both try to escape their ordinary lives. While Aimee retreats into the possible future she has planned out, Sutter escapes into alcohol and his facade of being in complete control of his life and everything around it.

Miles Teller portrays such a personality flawlessly in every area you can imagine; body language, words, and the choices he makes throughout the film are a tour de force of subtle yet powerful acting. Shailene Woodley also amazes as Aimiee, with her character’s transformation and personality, although her pairing with Teller’s character is the most riveting portion of the film. Plus, in a small but essential role, Kyle Chandler owns the scene in his limited screen time, being quintessential evidence that Chandler is one of the most diverse and talented actors currently working.

You know, I could keep telling you how wonderful the actors are, or how this is one of the best written scripts in ages, or how realistic and true to life it is, but instead I’ll just share one anecdote that will show how great this film was. During one of the film’s most pivotal scenes, I thought I knew where the whole scene was going, but oh, I was wrong. Suddenly, something happened, something so jaw-dropping and unexpected, my hands literally flew in the air in shock. This is one of the few movies to get such a physical reaction out of me, something that alone would earn it a hearty recommendation. The rest of the film’s wonderful assets? Well, that just makes something so spectacular even more so.