Metrics
Genre:
Coming-of-age, Comedy, Hollywood
Rating:
8.1 /10
Audience:
High schoolers about to graduate, adults thinking back to their younger days.
Rewatch Time:
Could do once in a couple years, but it's mostly for young people. 1h50.
Winner:
Quentin (Nat Wolff)
Review
I really like how wholesome this one is. Honestly not surprised that it was based on a John Green novel. Quentin is relatable in a natural, authentic sense, and Margo (Cara Delevingne) is a manic-pixie-dream-girl, but it's okay because the message of the movie is that no one is actually as one dimensional as they are in the minds of others. The real heart of this movie is Quentin's pining for Margo, his chemistry with Radar (Justice Smith) and Ben (Austin Abrams), and the upbeat tone and shenanigans that they actually get up to while trying to find Margo. Lacey (Halston Sage) was cool too, and did shake up the whole standard clique-bashing in these kinds of movies. I watched this soon after high school, so it did hit me in the feels quite a bit, but I think the authenticity of this movie will get through to anyone who watches. Might be fun to watch with friends before you graduate.
Spoiler Territory
The comedy in this one is also outstanding. Ben's entire character is hilarious; his banter with Radar, peeing in the car, dodging the cow. Singing the pokemon theme was probably the best scene for me because it just seemed so real and fun - and obviously I can relate. The ending scene wasn't the perfecting ending Quentin wanted, but I think it might have struck home a little harder with some better delivery from Margo - Delevingne did a great job in the first part of the movie, though. The outro scenes were satisfying, and it was generally the bittersweet ending I'd come to expect from such a movie, but it's good to see that Quentin grows over the course of the plot.