The Fault in Our Stars
Directed by: Josh Boone
Written by: Scott Neustadter & Michael H. Weber
Starring: Shailene Woodley, Ansel Elgort, Nat Wolff, Laura Dern, Sam Trammell, Willem Dafoe, Lotte Verbeek, Mike Birbiglia, Emily Peachey, Emily Bach, David Whalen, Milica Govich
Drama/Romance - 125 min Reviewed by Charlie Juhl on 6 June 2014
Written by: Scott Neustadter & Michael H. Weber
Starring: Shailene Woodley, Ansel Elgort, Nat Wolff, Laura Dern, Sam Trammell, Willem Dafoe, Lotte Verbeek, Mike Birbiglia, Emily Peachey, Emily Bach, David Whalen, Milica Govich
Drama/Romance - 125 min Reviewed by Charlie Juhl on 6 June 2014
Early on in one of my favorite movies of all time, Cameron Crowe’s Singles, James LeGros turns to Kyra Sedgwick and tells her with a straight face, “There is so much life in you and so much…emotional larceny in these others.” I had no idea what emotional larceny was until I saw The Fault in Our Stars. I still cannot attach a precise definition to emotional larceny but whatever The Fault in Our Stars is pushing across to the audience is definitely that.
Based on a wildly popular young adult novel of the same name by John Green, the story must lose something in translation to the visual medium; I cannot imagine the book was this preposterous. Having not read the novel, I can almost guarantee it is leagues superior to the film. The subject matter is ready made for a weeper and while avoiding overt attempts at over-sentimentality would be just about impossible for any filmmaker, director Josh Boone serves up gaudy stare downs, an obtrusive scene in Anne Frank’s attic hideaway, and one of the most unbelievable characters in recent history.
Based on a wildly popular young adult novel of the same name by John Green, the story must lose something in translation to the visual medium; I cannot imagine the book was this preposterous. Having not read the novel, I can almost guarantee it is leagues superior to the film. The subject matter is ready made for a weeper and while avoiding overt attempts at over-sentimentality would be just about impossible for any filmmaker, director Josh Boone serves up gaudy stare downs, an obtrusive scene in Anne Frank’s attic hideaway, and one of the most unbelievable characters in recent history.
That character is Gus Waters (Ansel Elgort). The first time he lays eyes on Hazel (Shailene Woodley) he relentlessly stares at her with one of the creepiest, fake smiles ever filmed. Men have ogled women throughout film history, but this love at first site situation does not work one bit. Hazel’s eyes dart nervously away from the clown-plastered stare and she wonders what is wrong with this kid. When they first talk to one another, it gets even worse. Gus says a memorably awful line akin to, “You’re so beautiful. I like to look at beautiful things.” Most of Gus’s lines are right up there in Anakin Skywalker territory.
That meeting occurs at a support group session for teenagers with cancer. Hazel is terminal and knows her days are numbered. Gus is in remission after a leg amputation and appears to be in very good spirits. His best friend, Isaac (Nat Wolff), is about to lose his second eye to cancer and prepares for a certain future in the dark. These are heavy issues for any age group but since this story concerns kids on the verge of adulthood whose lives may be cut short, there is an added poignancy to it. Unfortunately, what could have been a moving story about young love interrupted is marred by dreadful dialogue, a vacuous metaphor about why Gus usually has an unlit cigarette between his lips, and a character played by Willem Dafoe that shatters any and all plausibility the movie was clinging to.
Most of the blame must lie at the writers’ feet. Scott Neustadter and Michael H. Weber are responsible for two of the best films concerning young love in the history of cinema, (500) Days of Summer and The Spectacular Now. (500) Days of Summer was, in my opinion, the best film of 2009; I still cannot think about it without remembering how affected I was walking out of the theater. The Spectacular Now was one of the best films from last year and contained two of the most believable teenagers since Lloyd Dobbler and Diane Court from Say Anything. How is it possible these two writers, who clearly know what it takes to produce three dimensional and affecting characters, adapted a pair of teenagers so blank and empty?
It appears there is a requirement nowadays that all major female teenaged roles must be played by Shailene Woodley. Exemplary in The Spectacular Now, The Fault in Our Stars is her second 2014 blockbuster after Divergent; she has morphed from Dauntless to an oxygen tank. I applaud her range but Hazel is not written well enough to showcase another virtuoso performance from Woodley. Elgort, who played Woodley’s brother in Divergent and now her boyfriend, torpedoes an already atrocious character. I assume Willem Dafoe showed up just so he could yell at some teenagers.
Tip #1 – Do not make out in Anne Frank’s attic. Tip #2 – Do not have the other museum patrons slow clap to said making out. Emotional larceny, enough said.
Tip #1 – Do not make out in Anne Frank’s attic. Tip #2 – Do not have the other museum patrons slow clap to said making out. Emotional larceny, enough said.
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