The Fault in Our Stars

I had no idea how popular this movie was until I saw two high school girls taking photos of themselves with their tickets in front of the theatre that was showing the film. Of course I had heard of the fans throwing themselves at the stars and author John Green at the premiere, but I dismissed that as just teenage obsession a la Twilight.

I can see how this story could be so popular too. Two relatively normal seeming teenagers with 'normal' problems fall in love. Except with the added baggage of both having terminal cancer. Can there be a bigger recipe for a tearfest of a movie.

Well, you know how I said these two teens had normal problems, I was sort of lying. We see glimpses of Hazel and Augustus (both played spectacularly by Shailene Woodley and Ansel Elgort) beginning to deal with things like having sex for the first time, dealing with rejection and other angsty teen stuff. And that's what I thought what this film was going to be; a frank, yet emotional, portrayal of being a teenager whilst having cancer.

Instead, the first half of the movie doesn't take the opportunity to build up this relationship. Instead we get an obsession with an abruptly ending book that Hazel and Augustus can't handle and their journey to track down the author for answers. By the time the film gets to the relationship part, I was not invested in their romance. Sure I knew it was coming, I'm not an idiot, but the it should have happened earlier instead of painfully prolonging it.

Also this film is supposed to make you cry, right? Not once did I shed a tear during the two-hour run time. There were moments when I felt emotional, or as close as I could get, but never all out bawling.

If you're like me and you're unable to cry at kids with cancer, don't despair, the performances are pretty decent. Major props to Ansel Elgort who is amazing as he tries to put on a brave face in light of his situation. Laura Dern and Sam Trammell are also fantastic and I'm sure if I had of seen more of Trammell's sad face I probably would have cried. The same goes for Elgort.

Verdict: Cancer kids don't make Jack cry.