Review of If I Stay (2014) by Manny C — 20 Sep 2014
I just read a review of a Broadway show starring Michael Cera and Kieran Culkin, the play being a revival of Kenneth Lonergan's 90's piece This Is Our Youth, a show that looks at fleeting youths of the early 1980's without blinkers, and it made me long for an impromptu trip to New York especially after seeing this tepid romance that prefers to look at teen life through improbable rose-colored glasses.
That would be If I Stay..., an adaptation of Gayle Forman's 2009 YA best-seller that really really wants to be The Fault In Our Stars. It does have the good fortune of starring none other than Chloe Grace Moretz (Kick-Ass, Let Me In, Hugo), 17, a skilled actress that can go toe to toe with the best of them.
Except here. Moretz is Mia Hall, an Oregon teen with a gift for cello and a rocker boyfriend (Jamie Blackley), not to mention super indulgent parents (Mireille Enos and Joshua Leonard). She also has a drive to make it into Juliard.
Then there's a car accident and Mia goes into a coma. But her spirit roams all over the place listening in on family and friends. In life Mia is shy and introverted, and for some reason needs to be convinced that there's a reason to live if she stays alive, or something.
As I'm writing this I can feel a loss of interest. This is pure Hollywood sugar, something that shouldn't appeal to anyone over the age of 11. Documentarian R.J. Cutler (The September Issue), making his feature debut, aids Moretz in delivering this swill as if it holds some deeper meaning.
It doesn't.
This review of If I Stay (2014) was written by Manny C on 20 Sep 2014.
If I Stay has generally received positive reviews.
Was this review helpful?
