Review of The Fault in Our Stars (2014) by Cherie A — 14 Jun 2015

As determined as I was not to cry, I did cry, to be fair. I went to see the film having read half of the book, and subsequently found the first half of the film as a poor quality line-for-line reading of the first half of the book.

The film is a slow starter, as it introduces us to our obnoxious 'eugh I'm dying, but also I'm of superior intelligence to my peers' teen characters. This I believe was intentional, I think the characters are meant to be a bit like this, and actually as the film goes on, it shows their naivety and vulnerability.

Amsterdam may have been the turning point, and from there the film builds momentum as some of the superficiality of the tween relationship begins to be stripped away. Shailene Woodley does very well, although in my opinion she outshines her co stars who do well, but maybe try a bit too hard (besides her parents, who actually provide the most moving scene on the movie for me- yeah I cried, so what??) All round, the first half of the film had me questioning why I'd wasted my money on the ticket, but the second half pulled it round.

Not a stunning film, probs not worthy of the hype it received in the lead-up, but I'd say it achieved what it set out to achieve: a decent enough story, moving acting and a theatre full of emotional crying girls (and their loving, teenage boyfriends trying to act tough next to them).

Just about worth the ticket price, but I wouldn't buy the DVD.