The Fault In Our Stars Movie Review

The Fault In Our Stars by Josh Boone
Release Date: June 6, 2014
Studio: Fox
Rating: PG-13
Runtime: 125 mins
Rating:

Hazel and Gus are two teenagers who share an acerbic wit, a disdain for the conventional, and a love that sweeps them on a journey. Their relationship is all the more miraculous given that Hazel's other constant companion is an oxygen tank, Gus jokes about his prosthetic leg, and they met and fell in love at a cancer support group.

So one of the best decisions I made in the past 2 years was to read The Fault In Our Stars.  I was very anti YA contemporary.  I figured I am a grown adult, I shouldn't be reading a book about high schoolers unless it has wizards, vampires, ghost, pretty much anything paranormal or fantasy.  But I was pretty much in a reading slump, and a friend of mine suggested it to me.  I then checked my Goodreads and saw that majority of my friends had given it 5 stars.  So I figured I'd give it a try.  I am not kidding when I say my life was changed.  The Fault In Our Stars aka TFiOS completely changed my views of young adult contemporary.  And now, I pretty much really mostly ya contemporary.

I pretty much followed the TFiOS movie from the day they announced the casting.  I like all fans of both Divergent ant TFiOS giggled at the fact that in one ya adaptation Shailene Woodley and Ansel Elgort were playing siblings, and in another lovers.  Let me say this now to get it out of the way.  When I watched TFiOS, I did not once see Tris and Caleb.  From their first scenes together, it was clearly Hazel and Augustus.  I watched as the author John Green and the actors tweeted from the set in Pittsburgh while filming.  I also enviously saw pictures of fans visiting the set.  If any TFiOS news was released, I was on it.  So of course when a fan advanced screening of the movie was announced for NYC, I immediately took that day off of work and made sure I would be in attendance.

As of today, I've seen the movie twice.  It's always interesting to see a book to movie film adaptation with fans of the book.  There's just this excitement along with a real sense of fandom.  The first time I saw it, I was so into the movie, I wanted the full experience so I didn't take notes.  But the second time I was armed with pen and paper.  (Side note:  It's very hard to write in a darkened movie theater).

From the way both fans and nonfans reacted I want to say that the director Josh Boone really nailed this movie.  From start to finish you are glued to the screen.  You don't even realize that the movie is just over 2 hours long.  And with any book to movie adaption, of course some things were added and some things were changed.  But I feel the changes were necessary.  And the pivotal scenes and quotes from the book were all left in.

If I could sum this movie up in one word, it would be beautiful.  I laughed and cried just as much as I did when I read the book.  The emotions are there.  It's seriously one of my favorite ya adaptations.  Fox really took care of this fandom.  Even with it's minimal budget (12 million dollars) the fine details were there.  I took joy in seeing small things such as Gus's parents cooking enchiladas when he brings Hazel to his house the first time.  Hazel being a fan of the band Hectic Glow.  Gus having a Rik Smits jersey.

The acting was spot on.  And I am pretty sure that the amount of Ansel Elgort fans have pretty much quadrupled since he first came on the scene in 2014 remake of Carrie.  That kid (Yes I am calling him a kid since he was 19 when the movie was filmed) has an infectious smile.  His portrayal of Gus is really good. You can tell that he was not just playing a role and is a fan of the project.  It was very obvious that both him and Shailene were fans of the book.

But of course I can't end this without talking about the gutwrenching parts.  Without spoiling anything, I want to say that it was pretty difficult to watch certain parts. Especially when you know they are coming.  At one point, during the fan screening I actually had to close my eyes and put my head down to control my breathing.  My heart was pounding.  But this isn't a bad thing.  There have been times in which I've read things in books that are very emotional, and seeing it on screen it affecting me either minimally or not at all. The feelings you get while watching this is just raw emotion.

The Fault In Our Stars opens in theaters Friday June 6th!  This uber fan really loved and I hope you all go out and see it!