The Fault in Our Stars

If cancer kids don't sell tickets I don't know what will

Meet Hazel (Shailene Woodley), she is a teenager living with cancer and an oxygen tank she has to carry around with her. She has a common routine of anyone in her predicament. School, family, T.V., medication, hospital, and has recently added a support group to her regiment. She hates going to this support group, but goes to make her parents (Laura Dern, and Sam Trammell) feel better. She has few friends (so she can minimize the fallout from her imminent demise) until she meets a young handsome boy named Augustus (Ansel Elgort) and his friend Isaac (Nat Wolff).  Augustus and Hazel form a quick bond, but he has trouble making the bond grow into love when she is set on not letting anyone get too close to her.

So the story line here is pretty standard as far as cancer movies go, except not standard at all as far as romance goes. The cancer portion of this was not what hooked me to the story line, I knew going into this that some tragedy was going to come. Hazel says throughout the movie and the trailer that she is a grenade, and she is going to explode hurting everyone close to her, so I don't view that as a spoiler. I won't give away how the movie ends, even though I do take some issue with the third act of the film. So, since this movie has to do with numerous themes let's go ahead and delve a little deeper into the story line.... Oh, and this is another example of a movie being based of a book that I didn't read, so you are stuck with my opinion of the film by itself.

I finally get to review a movie from the perspective of a smoker (haven't had that chance since "Thank You for Smoking"). Let me just say, for the record, that I know all the dangers of smoking (in this day and age it is hard not to know), and I am perfectly fine with that. These days if someone picks up a pack of cigarettes at my age, they know exactly what they are getting into, and are told from day one that they are signing their own death warrant. So, this movie didn't make me suddenly realize that I need to invest in "the patch." A two hour long movie with attractive young actors is not going to break through the years I have built as a hopelessly addicted smoker. It is not going to show me anymore than the anti-smoking commercials have shown me. In fact, seeing an unlit cigarette in the boy's mouth only made me want a cigarette more. Maybe that makes me a bad person, I think it makes me an addict. I don't tell people to go out and smoke, but I don't expect having to hear that I should stop from any person I meet on the street either.  This movie about cancer seemed to be more on the side of the type cancer that is really no one's fault. The cancer that afflicts kids for no rhyme or reason other than The Fates wanting to hurt some one. That cancer is a dick. This movie being centered around that cancer prepares the audience for a very sad movie.  It let's you know before you even see it that you will most like cry. Did I cry? No, I am soulless prick who cries at movies like "The Iron Giant" not cancer kid movies. Will you cry? Most likely. I did get a little chocked up when things started coming to a head, so if I can feel a twinge in my throat that means that most other people accustomed to crying in movies are going to pour buckets.

So, that leaves the other part to this story line, the romance. This movie may be able to boast that it has the most chemistry between it's two leads than any other movie this year. I truly believed that they were two inexperienced teenagers in love. What's more is that it felt like a realistic portrayal of teenage love. The cutesy little crap that comes out of our mouths when we are that age, the desire, the idiocy, all of it seemed pretty straight forward and common in today's society. I am more so talking about some points in the relationship between Hazel and Gus, but all of the points between the short lived relationship Isaac had. I don't expect that anyone is going to use their "one wish" to bring me to Amsterdam to meet my hero author, and vice versa; however, that did give a realistic portrayal of what I would expect to happen if I ever did meet one of my heroes. I can't speak on how this movie would effect parents or children with terminal diseases since I haven't lived through that trying time, but everything else in this movie was done pretty well. The sense of loss, the love struck awe were great.... it was really friggin' pretentious at points but no script can be perfect.

The acting in this was pretty outstanding, and I can be thankful for that given the cast. Ansel Elgort made up for his performance in...everything prior to this, by being a believable nice guy. Nat Wolff gave us a pretty realistic look at blindness and heartbreak. The parents were used as set pieces, but did good where it counts. Willem Dafoe showed up for a brief stint as an asshole author, not knowing how to deal with real people. A major hats off to Shailene Woodley for doing the damn near impossible and washing out the bad taste "Divergent" left in our mouths.  This movie makes me think that she might actually have a bright future as a young star, and makes me horrified that she is tied to that other ridiculously bad series. She made us feel for her character, and gave us a realistic look at someone born into a no-win situation.

Final Verdict: See it in Theaters It wasn't perfect and won't break down the gender barrier for romance movies, but it was very good. I don't think any man should see it by himself like I did, but if you have a special someone in your life this is a great date movie.