Why I Saw It: Occasionally, It's fun to be the complete demographic minority seeing a movie (82% female, 79% under 25).
Cast: This movie doesn't work without Shailene Woodley. That is worth repeating. The movie would not work if it didn't have Shailene Woodley. She can sell every single line and moment she's asked to. That is key. She's still trying to get out of the "poor man's Jennifer Lawrence" business and she's taking an interesting path to do it, although she still has some work to do. Ansel Elgort does an impressive job playing cocky, but not unlikeable, which is much harder than it looks. Laura Dern and Sam Trammell play the concerned parents well, Dern in particular. Nat Wolff is the standard comedic-relief best friend and I spent most of the time reminding myself that he wasn't Christopher Mintz-Plasse. That isn't a knock. They have a similar energy is all.
Plot: The shortest description I can give is "cancer kids fall in love". That alone tells you or implies the beats of the movie, especially when you throw in the description "tear-jerker". I saw the movie opening night and it looks like the fangirls came out in full force that night. This likely changed my perspective of the movie because there was normally and "aww" or "here it comes" before any scene of note could take me by surprise. I couldn't be too mad though because the best thing I can say about the movie is that it's complete fan service. Granted, I haven't read the book, so I may be a little off, but the driving force for everything had the feel of "how can we make this moment from the book work best in a movie" rather than "how can we make the best movie?". I'd be shocked if any fans were disappointed by this. You may have noticed I've given almost no specifics about the plot and there's a reason for that. Either 1) you've already read the book, making a description pointless or 2) you've haven't read it, in which case you really only need to basics to know if it is worth your time.
Elephant in the Room: I hear the movie made some people cry. Yeah. It's one of those, but dialed up to 11. Toward the end, nearly every other scene is designed to make you cry. I probably would've broke down too, but so many of the people around me who obviously read the book kept alerting me of when a gut punch was coming with their own pre-winces. Thing thing is, almost all of the scenes are earned. They are the result of developing the characters and serve the greater story rather than being moments inserted to evoke a reaction. Still, bring some tissues as a precaution.
To Sum Things Up:
This is an ok movie with some great performances (or at least some good and one great performance). It's the kind that sets its own goals for what it needs to do to be considered effective and accomplishes all of them. It has a rather specific audience in mind, so if romances or tear-jerkers aren't your thing, there's nothing for you. This was a good little detour from the action movies and comedies of summer.
Verdict (?): Weakly Recommend
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