The Fault in Our Stars

Let me start off this review by saying thank god for waterproof mascara! I haven't cried this much over a movie in a long time. Wow! Words can't even begin to describe just how amazing The Fault in Our Stars is. I'll do my best though.

The movie is based on a popular YA book written by John Green. I haven't read it yet so I apologize if I mess anything up. From what I've heard though, it's a pretty faithful adaptation. Hazel is a 16 year old cancer patient who's pretty much forced by her parents (Laura Dern & Sam Trammell) to attend a cancer support group. There she meets Gus (Ansel Elgort) an amputee whose cancer is in remission. He's very charming, funny, and (despite everything that's happened to him) has a great outlook. They start spending more and more time together and eventually fall in love.

Director Josh Boone does an outstanding job bringing this story to life. Yes it's a romantic drama but, unlike most movies that fall into this category these days, the dialog never felt cheesy and the scenes weren't sappy. It was really sweet yet heartbreaking at the same time. It felt real. They never shyed away from the fact that these two are both dealing with a terminal illness and that their time together will probably be short. I was such a mess throughout the whole movie, as was everyone else in the theater. You could hear all the sniffles. Thankfully there's quite a bit of humor spread throughout. There'd be times where I'd be sobbing uncontrollably and then they tossed something funny in so I was doing this weird combination of crying and laughing.

Another thing I give the director a lot of credit for is getting such powerful performances out of the actors, especially Shailene and Ansel. The two of them actually played brother and sister in Divergent so it was a little odd at first but you quickly forget about that and you really believe they're a couple.

I thought the soundtrack was really nice and fit well with the movie.

I honestly can't think of a single flaw this movie has. It's one of my favorites this year so far. I highly recommend it, but make sure you bring tissues.

Nicholas Sparks movies take note- this is how you do a romantic drama!

My Rating: 10/10