1/13/20 - Spontaneous (2020) - 6-/10
A fun premise with some engaging young actors that mostly gets the job done, but doesn’t quite blow-up. The setting of seniors in a high school randomly spontaneously combusting allows for the “time-crunch push for love” story that is a staple of the YA romance genre. Its flamboyant sprinkles of dark humor detonate continuously, generally sparing us the usual sap and replacing it with exploded teen ichor. It’s quite entertaining and sprightly, at least for a while.
Langford and Plummer have the charisma to keep us hooked and their playful banter felt lived in more than some generic “clever kids” contrivedness. There was a purity to their union and an entertaining drama to their relationship. This actually goes for most of the characters and their kinships. The script was dexterous and dolefully droll...until it wasn’t.
The film finds its wheels spinning in the 3rd act. After a bombastic change in the story dynamic, the main character’s aimlessness bleeds from her emotions into the script. It then counteracts that with some Buellerian 4th wall breaking and banal youthful rebellion. These dalliances derailed what was interestingly chugging along and allowed the ride to just sputter out.
It’s fun enough for most of it and the actors buzz though it falls into genre handily towards the end.
