Review: THE FAULT IN OUR STARS

THE FAULT IN OUR STARS  (ROMANCE/DRAMA)
3 out of 4 stars
Directed by Josh Boone
Starring: Shailene Woodley, Ansel Elgort, Laura Dern, Nat Wolff, Sam Trammell, Willem Dafoe, Lotte Verbeek
Rated PG-13 for thematic elements, some sexuality and brief strong language.
125 min.
Verdict: Those outside of the book's devoted fandom may be at a bit of a loss for what all the fuss is about, but THE FAULT IN OUR STARS is, regardless, a smart and entirely sufficient teen romance with a twist, anchored by two excellent leads, and potent sincerity.
YOU MAY ENJOY THE FAULT IN OUR STARS IF YOU LIKED:
THE PERKS OF BEING A WALLFLOWER  (2012)
THE SPECTACULAR NOW  (2013)
50/50  (2011)
DIVERGENT  (2014)
STUCK IN LOVE  (2012)

THE FAULT IN OUR STARS is already dealing with inherently problematic themes, so it's quite an accomplishment that it manages to avoid becoming a syrupy, schlocky tearjerker altogether.  Instead, it rises above to be a decent and occasionally insightful tearjerker.  I have not read the bestselling book by John Green, and cannot compare it to the source material, nor would have an interest in doing so.  I have absolutely no doubts, however, that the film will satisfy the book's legions of fans, all of whom are conspiring to turn this into a rare chick flick summer blockbuster.
Newly-minted young Hollywood starlet Shailene Woodley, last witnessed in DIVERGENT, stars as Hazel Grace Lancaster, a teenaged young woman whose constant companion in life is a portable oxygen tank, on account of her cancerous lungs.  Diagnosed with terminal cancer at age 13, Hazel coasts through life on a steady diet of reality shows, existential literature and acerbic commentary.  Pressured by her mother (Laura Dern), Hazel starts attending a support group for youths with cancer, where she meets Augustus Waters (Ansel Elgort), a "manic pixie dream boy" if there ever was one.  Charming and terrifically odd, with an insufferably optimistic outlook on life, Augustus is forthright with Hazel about his attraction to her, and before long, they're dating, going on wacky misadventures together with mortality ever looming.

There are a lot of movies that have my interest early, and then lose me in the later half, but THE FAULT IN OUR STARS is one of the very few movies that didn't grab my interest until near the middle mark.  Up until that point, it was perhaps a bit twee, but a merely adequate little movie.  To explain what happens at the middle mark and then what follows would constitute a "spoiler", but suffice it to say that it is when the film finally reveals its true complexity.  The themes about learning to live with pain, with yourself and with others, are all very warm and wise, but much of the time, the film is walking on a razor's edge as it deals with real-life issues that at this point have been so cheapened by so many manipulative, sappy dime-store romances, issues that now possess negative connotations in movie form.  To this movie's credit, it tells this familiar story with plenty of sincerity and just enough originality to get away with it.
The performances are undoubtedly the strongest factor of the film, particularly the two young leads, Woodley and Elgort, who played siblings in DIVERGENT.  Especially early into the movie, Elgort's role is basically Maude from HAROLD AND MAUDE, Natalie Portman's character from GARDEN STATE and basically everything Zooey Deschanel has ever done, but he's an ever likable screen presence with charisma to spare.  However, it isn't until fairly later in the film when he really gets to show his acting chops in some really tough scenes.  Woodley, who was a standout in last summer's excellent THE SPECTACULAR NOW (which was also written by Scott Neustadter and Michael H. Weber, who teamed back up for this), continues to impress, and while I'm unsure if a movie released this early has a strong chance of major awards attention, I would not be surprised if she gets an Academy Award nomination for Best Actress, not just because it's the kind of thing that the Academy eats up, but she really is deserving.
Ultimately, the most refreshing thing about THE FAULT IN OUR STARS is that it's a deviation from the summer barrage of sci-fi action and destruction porn, providing a mainstream but very different sort of entertainment.