Out now in select theaters and available on Premium Video on Demand and for Digital Purchase

Jeri Jacquin

Coming from writer/director Brian Duffield and Paramount Pictures is the story of the last year of high school, friendship, love and a weirdly a bit SPONTANEOUS.

The senior year is finally hear for Mara Carlyle (Katherine Langford) and bestie Tess (Hayley Law). Classes are in full swing and lessons are getting under way when suddenly – a classmate – well, literally explodes. The, um, leftovers have covered the room and the kids are sent screaming into the halls.

Trying to understand what has happened, each of the students is questioned and then released. Mara goes home and does what any good teenager would do – get on with life. Returning back to school and party life isn’t going exactly as planned either as more kids are popping.

FBI Agent Rosetti (Yvonne Orji) talks with the kids to see if they know anything and seems to take a liking to Mara. In the meantime, Dylan (Charlie Plummer) decides to finally come clean about his long-time feelings for Mara. They have the same humor and fun side but also realize that “popping” adds a whole new level to their relationship.

Ending up in quarantine, the group tries to pass the time the best way they can as their families wait outside for news of a cure for their kids. Will they find a cure? Will love endure? Will life return to normal?

Do not pop until you find out!

Langford as Mara is witty, has great comedic timing and has the last laugh in a dig at Trump (of course I laughed myself silly). Filled with smarts and movie one liners, Langford gives her character everything crazy about being a teenager that is unsure of the future but with one more unexpected twist.

Plummer is having one heck of a year with SPONTANEOUS and the film WORDS ON BATHROOM WALLS. In both films he plays a very witty, intelligent and kindhearted teen but one is afraid of popping and the other has health issues but both are in love and that makes all the difference. There is a calming in Plummer’s character choices and that says something about the roles we will see in the future. I would hate (and love) to see what he can do with a character that isn’t so charming.

McNulty as Tess is the perfect yin to Mara’s yang because when Mara needs it most, it is Tess that says exactly what needs to be said in exactly the way Tess dishes it out. Orji as Agent Rosetti wants to help but having kids explode for no reason does not exactly leave much room for finding evidence.

Other cast include Piper Perabo as Angela, Chelah Horsdal as Denise, Rob Huebel as Charlie, Kaitlyn Bernard as Sky, Laine MacNeil as Jenna, Doralynn Mui as Cranberry, and Mellany Barros as Katelyn.

Paramount Pictures is the longest operating and remaining major studio in Hollywood that has been on the ground floor of every major development in film. From the advent of motion pictures, to the emergence of television, through the digital revolution, Paramount Pictures has been there. During our 100-year history, we have served as the production site for thousands of notable movies and television shows. For more please visit www.paramountstudios.com.

SPONTANEOUS is a dark, light, funny, guilty laughing film about the problems of being a teen with the added fear of popping. There is humor that is quick and, in some cases, a double smack of quickness that stays one step ahead of the unfortunate events.

This takes teen angst movies to the next level and I had such fun watching it. The film never lets you settle on one emotion before it jerks you into the next which can be a tad unsettling but in a really good and original way.

In the midst of the world’s craziness right now, SPONTANEOUS gives us a reason to laugh, remember and accept that in a world where you think you’ve seen it all – you haven’t.

In the end – who knew senior year could be so…well, spontaneous!

Comments

comments

Recommend to friends
  • gplus
  • pinterest

About the Author

Jeri Jacquin

Jeri Jacquin covers film, television, DVD/Bluray releases, celebrity interviews, festivals and all things entertainment.