Sutter Keely (Miles Teller) is a popular high-school burnout who medicates everything with an unending fountain of alcohol. Keely's love interest, Aimee Finicky (Shailene Woodley), plays the devoted good girl with cringing perfection. As the movie progresses, Finicky takes on the quiet strength of a woman with a purpose: college. In contrast, Keely's confidence begins to unravel as his "now" is engulfed by his hazy future. The teens look and act like real teenagers: smart kids with skin problems who drink too much in a sloppy, unglorified way. It is Now's determination not to become another coming-of-age caricature that makes it so good. (CIENNA MADRID)