Movie Review: "The Fault In Our Stars"....Greatest Love Story Of This Century? I'd Say Yes.

The Fault In Our Stars

Director: Josh Boone
Cast: Shailene Woodley, Ansel Elgort, Nat Wolff, Laura Dern, Sam Trammell, and Willem Dafoe.
Rated PG-13 for thematic elements, some sexuality, and brief strong language.

I am typically not one for love stories, particularly because they are often cliched, over-romanticized, and fake. I can enjoy the occasional rom-com if the material is funny, but I cannot stand Nicholas Sparks' adaptations (at least 99% of them), and movies like The Vow make me want to die inside. But, I'm here to tell you that this one hit all of the right notes. We are still early into the 21st century, but The Fault In Our Stars is the best love story we've seen since 2000, and it will be remembered and weighed against for a long, long time.


The story is based on the best-selling novel of the same name by John Green. It tells the story of Hazel who suffers from cancer. Though her case has become manageable, she fears not for herself, but for her parents and what her inevitable death will do to them. And then Gus comes into her life. He, too, had cancer, but his has gone into remission not before costing him his leg. The two embark on a journey together sharing cancer stories, but also life stories and learning to love life even though death can come knocking at any moment.

I'm not saying this is the best love story simply because it is about two cancer kids; that would be too easy. No, this is great because everything feels genuine, real, brutally honest, with completely relatable characters. Sure, the fact that their lives revolves around an incurable disease plays a major role, but that is not what defines this movie. It is defined by the beauty that surrounds these characters and their relationships with each other and those around them. These feel like real people. Credit author John Green, and screenwriters Scott Neustadter and Michael H. Weber whose credits also include The Spectacular Now and (500) Days of Summer. These guys know how to write real and raw relationships for the screen.

The movie is beautifully filmed, the music perfectly supports the film's tone without being too obvious, and the acting, particularly from Woodley and Elgort, is perfect. I really do not have anything negative to say about the film. There will still be plenty of people who are jaded to anything revolving around love, but you cannot deny that these characters are fully realized and treated like genuine people. That's all I ever ask from a love story, but too often these types of movies are served with extra amounts of cliched sap that is not relatable. Not this time. Though I'm sure many in the audience would've appreciated a complimentary box of tissues upon entering the theater.

RATING: A