Why The Spectacular Now is not for me

In what I consider to be a strange convergence of the Force, there were 3 like-minded, coming-of-age films to come out of the Sundance Film Festival this year.  One of these movies,  The Way Way Back, I put very close to the top of my top 10 list of last year.  It was one of the most emotionally fulfilling film experiences of last year for me and I still sob at the end every time I watch it.  The other two, The Spectacular Now and Kings of Summer, were on my watch list, but had a fairly low priority because of their R-ratings (I try to avoid R-rated films, especially if they have hard violence or sex).  However, The Spectacular Now recently showed up on Amazon Prime, so I decided to give it a shot.  I didn't end up finishing it and here's why.

The Spectacular Now (TSN) comes across as a very pessimistic film.  None of the characters are really happy, or at least the ones that I met in the first hour.  They all lead fairly bleak lives and this movie focuses on that bleakness.  It feels like something that the Nihilistic Coen Brothers could have written. 

Also, the film deals with some very heavy and/or dark themes.  Teen alcoholism and teen sex are both prevalent, and both of which I have absolutely no experience with.  I will probably be called a prude for saying this, but almost every one of the problems that these people are experiencing could very easily be solved by choosing to live a more virtuous life.  I found almost no sympathy for them and certainly couldn't relate to any of them. 

So, I cannot recommend TSN to any of you, unless you want to go on a depressing journey.  I think that most of you are like-minded and would find this film to be as unwatchable as I do. 

Cheers.