After the novel, The Fault in Our Stars, I was very
annoyed, slightly angry, gun-shy, and determined to avoid John Green as long as
possible. I knew that eventually curiosity and the belief that any author
deserves a fair shot would get the better of me. Even while resisting however,
my eye has been on Paper Towns.
Something about the plot sounded fun and adventurous. The exact opposite of TFIOS. Last week I finally watched the
trailer for the film, and decided to go for it. And I did. And I loved it.
Normally I wouldn’t have watched
the movie first, but I needed reassurance that the book was a story worth
spending time on. A two-hour movie is also less of an emotional commitment than
a 350-page novel. John Green had not yet gained my trust. Now the book is at
the top of my YA to-read list.
Young
and shy Quentin is in for the night of his life when Margo, the most popular
student in high school, recruits him to help her play mischievous pranks on the
friends who betrayed her. The next day, however, the mysterious Margo is
nowhere to be found. With help from a few buddies and some cryptic clues that
she left behind, Quentin embarks on an obsessive mission to find the girl who
stole his heart and made him feel truly alive.
The trailer and the synopsis do not
do the movie justice. First of all, this movie is not a boy-meets-girl, boy-gets-girl story. It is not primarily a
romance, nor is it about Margo Roth Spiegelman. It is first and foremost a
movie about friends and about growing up, not just growing older, and about seeing people accurately, not how you want to see them. The three
friends, Q, Radar, and Ben have grown up together. As graduation nears and they
each plan to go off to their respective colleges they know there is a good
chance they will never all be together again. Margo is the catalyst that sets
them and two girls off on one last great adventure – an interstate manhunt for
Margo Roth Spiegelman. Road-tripping up the east coast from Florida to New York
brings them together and deepens their friendship in ways they had never
experienced. In the end Quentin learns a painful lesson, but takes the good with
bad, and learns for the first time in his life what really matters – the
relationships he has now.
This past summer I read The Beginning of Everything, a YA novel
that struck a chord with me because I’d never seen a YA story with such an
excellent message: grow up, get over your childish foolishness, and become an
adult, even if your friends and those closest to you will not. I enjoyed the
main character’s last great adventure, and the journey to the end of high
school (high school both as an attitude and a time of life). And ever since I
read that book, I’ve wished it was a movie. Well, little did I know, but The Beginning of Everything, as
excellent as it is in its own right, draws heavily from Paper Towns. From the female character that draws the main character
into a series of adventures, to the message that you must
grow up, live your life right, and value those that are in your life now to the warnings about the danger of idealizing human beings. The
film Paper Towns was my Beginning of Everything. I’ll have to
read the novel before I can accurately compare them, but as things stand now,
they’re both different and the same.
That said, it is not a family film. The language wasn’t too horrible – there were two or three strong
profanities in a two-hour film. But there is quite a bit of innuendo
throughout. Sexual jokes, comments about “waiting for prom” to “do it,” and
then afterward admitting it has been “done.” And perhaps worst of all, one of
Margo’s pranks ends with a teenager fleeing a house totally naked, showing just
about everything. The nudity I could’ve done without, and the scene could’ve
been just as effective without going so far. Points off for the nudity. The
most I can say about that particular part is you can see it coming, so just hit
fast-forward if you’re like me and don’t appreciate that stuff.
It was well acted – the friends all
made me laugh out loud at points. They were each different and unique in their
own right. And the adventures they go through very much held my attention. I
tend to not enjoy high school movies, but this one had enough going for it that
I look forward to watching it again. I’ve had both soundtracks (the score and
the vocal songs) running non-stop since I finished the movie, and I’m very much
looking forward to the book.
Mr. Green, you have earned a bit of
my trust. But still, just because I really, really
did not like TFIOS…
Well, I must say that you are more generous than I am in giving an author a second chance. I can be lost for laugh if the first impression was a terrible one.
ReplyDeleteI don't think I'd want to read this book OR see the movie but I always enjoy hearing your thoughts on these things, regardless. And I can totally hear you laughing outloud. :) Miss you!
Well, I must say that you are more generous than I am in giving an author a second chance. I can be lost for laugh if the first impression was a terrible one.
ReplyDeleteI don't think I'd want to read this book OR see the movie but I always enjoy hearing your thoughts on these things, regardless. And I can totally hear you laughing outloud. :) Miss you!
Hahaha! Trust me, I'm not usually so generous. Miss you too, my friend. :)
ReplyDelete