Review of Everything, Everything (2017) by Harvey R — 26 May 2017

My overly thought thoughts on Coming of Age genre and Everything Everything (2017) Review:

In all of cinema, there is only one genre I cannot stand. No it is not musicals, horror, or even biopics (though I could rant on about how I feel about biopics making them a close contender). The genre I consider dreadful beyond all reason is â??coming of age.â??

In my opinion, there is no bigger waste of valuable life time than a melodramatic, hormone-packed coming of age film. I even dare to include the â??classicsâ?? of â??legendaryâ?? writer John Hughes such as Breakfast Club (1985) and Farris Buellerâ??s Day Off (1986). I simply do not find the value in film set entirely in high school or young adulthood for the purpose of dramatizing self-realization.

This is not to say I do not understand the genre or the movies I mentioned, however. I understand that they are attempts to showcase the struggle of the American teenager to be understood and understand him or herself along the way. It is an artistic medium for teenagers to relate to and see that life is what they make it and so are they. As art, it has every right and reason under the sun to exist. However, I do not see the value of it when it is the sole element on the canvas. There are films that use the coming of age element to achieve something bigger though, and those films I thoroughly enjoy.

Examples include: Back to the Future (1985), which revolved around time-travel and each eraâ??s contemporary culture and thus became of paramount importance in the sci-fi genre. Another would be Scott Pilgrim vs the World (2010), which was an example of phenomenal editing and visual effects. Lastly and more recent, Moonlight (2016) used the coming of age element but carried it throughout a manâ??s entire journey into late adulthood. In Moonlight we saw the main characterâ??s childhood abuse he went through, we saw his struggle to find himself in his teenage years, and we saw how that struggle and resulting consequences affected who he had become as an adult.

Contrast this character versus John Bender in Breakfast Club. John Bender simply tells us his father is abusive so now he wears plaid and smokes pot. We do not see any background nor do we see how his experience in the Breakfast Club detention influenced his life afterwards. Therefore, John Bender is perceived as more of a stereotype of an abused teenager and rebel rather than an actual portrayal of one. This ironic since Breakfast Club is a movie that aims to expose stereotypes and discourage them, yet it lacks any actual, developed characters.

Anyways, know that you know how I feel about coming of age films, you may imagine my joyous reaction when my sister told me she wanted to go see Everything Everything (2017). All I can really say is that the experience could have been worst. Yes, it was a movie so predictable you can probably have guessed the ending just by looking at the poster. But the actors actually tried. No lie, the lead couple actually did very well. Perhaps they did not say the smartest things in the world, but hell, neither did I when I was 17.

Though the acting was above decent, the same cannot be said for the story. Unsurprisingly, I did not read the book. So when I was introduced to the story via opening dialogue (typical), the first thought in my mind was that this was already a bad story to begin with. The premise sounds like A Fault in our Stars (2014) meets Room (2015).

Although completely implausible, we are introduced to Maddy, a girl so sick that if she goes outside or has any interaction with bacteria she will die. Yet, she goes outside like 4 times and I was told in Biology 104 we have like a billion bacteria in our skin soâ?¦what happened there? Ignoring the plot hole, a new family moves next door and the new familyâ??s teenage son falls in love with Maddy after seeing her though the window of her Juliet Capulet-type tower that is her room. They exchange numbers and begin to converse via text message. This is where we can see the film editorâ??s lack of creativity. Text messaging can be shown on screen quite cleverly or at least in a flashy manner as seen in House of Cards (2013), The Shallows (2016), or Non-Stop (2014). However, in Everything Everything theyâ??re just plain yellow subtitles. In addition to this, during some actual face-to-face interaction we see subtitles that outline what the actors/actresses are supposed to be feeling. Forgive my criticism but is it not the job of the actors/actresses to show emotion without needing subtitles? Is that not what acting is?

Fortunately, the cinematography and production designs are not as atrocious as the editing. The whole movie is actually far from an eye sore. We seldom see much outside Maddyâ??s house but when we do, it is not badly done or shot. In fact, when Maddy and her new boy toy go to Hawaii with her limitless credit card she got in the internet (Yes, Hawaii. Remember that trip to Hawaii you took when you were 17?) it looks like a very elegant Hollister commercial. Regardless, we all know there is no movie where visuals can save you from a bad story, writer, and editor. Just ask Michael Bay.

Lastly, towards the end we find out the movie has a plot twist. Most teenagers in the theater had a light gasp or said â??oh noâ?? when it was revealed. I, on the other hand, thought the twist was borderline psychotic. No, perhaps it was not Silence of the Lambs (1991) psychotic but there must definitely be some serious law against what happened. Thus, I was even more irritated towards the end when Maddy simply shrugs it off. Implausible. All of it, beyond all reason.

At its conclusion, we are left with the obvious theme that everyone dies but not everyone lives. Maddy had been locked away in her tower of a room for 17 years and risks death to pursue teenage romance, because clearly that is what life is about. For such a powerful theme, this is a very underwhelming movie. Like with most coming of age movies, Everything Everything spends too much time focusing on too little of life to actually lecture on what life is. If Everything Everythingâ??s defensive statement is that it aims to tell a story, that is even sadder than if it was trying to push a theme. This is because Everything Everything is not even a good story to begin with nor is it one told with elegancy.

Perhaps, it can be argued that for its intended age group, Everything Everything may not be a good movie but it is a good start for its young audience to begin picking up film traits and how to examine them. For instance, Maddyâ??s high and bright room overlooks her boy toyâ??s dark room. This fits for their Romeo and Juliet-type romance and reflects their personalities (spoiled and protected versus young, wears-all-black-rebel). Additionally, the subtitles outlining their feelings, though preposterous for seasoned moviegoers, may be a good start for young audiences to read actors. There is also a subtle introduction to set up and payoff of props used when Maddyâ??s mother discovers Maddyâ??s boy toy has been in their house.

On the other hand, there are many better movies to use when teaching these film traits. But again, for its intended audience I suppose it is not terrible. Therefore, at least I can say this: if you are forced to watch Everything Everything, at least you wont die since its better than some garbage out there right now. But I still would not recommend it.

Consensus:

If you still send texts that say, â??rawrâ??: 3/4.

If you are too grown for that shit: 1.5/4.