I’m a sucker for sap. Why else would I have been choking back tears at the end of “The Fault in our Stars,” a drama about teenage cancer patients who meet at a support group and fall in love?
The story is told through the eyes of 16-year-old Hazel Grace Lancaster, an intelligent but sarcastic teen with terminal thyroid cancer. Believing her to be depressed, Hazel’s mother urges her to attend a support group for cancer patients at a church. There, she literally bumps into Augustus Waters, a slightly older boy who had cancer and beat it, but not before losing half of his right leg.
Smitten, Augustus is unable to take his eyes off of Hazel. (“I like looking at beautiful people,” he later says.) His unyielding stare unnerves Hazel but doesn’t put her off. During group discussion, Augustus says his greatest fear is “oblivion,” an answer Hazel says is foolish. Nevertheless, the two connect after the meeting and begin the journey to being in love.
“The Fault in our Stars” is based on a popular 2011 novel that drew its name from Shakespeare’s play, “Julius Caesar,” in which the nobleman Cassius says to Brutus, “The fault, dear Brutus, is not in our stars, but in ourselves, that we are underlings.” These young lovers are a tiny part of a vast universe that has no regard for their plight; their cancer might be a cruel fate, but it simply is.
I initially resisted the charms of their romance, though, largely because of how the character of Augustus was written. Rather than being a typical 18-year-old teenage boy who has his footing in the world but still has a lot to learn, Augustus is presented as being wise beyond his years, and insightful simply because he thinks and does things differently.
For example, outside the church after support group, Augustus pops a cigarette in his mouth. Outraged, Hazel tells him he’s blown it with her. Undeterred, August smiles and says he never lights a cigarette, he simply takes the thing that could kill him and places it between his teeth without giving it the power to hurt him. Whoa...
I get it. But actor Ansel Elgort takes these moments and amplifies them to a deafening degree. Whenever Augustus is about to say or do something profound, he pauses and smiles, as if to say, “I’m about to blow your mind.” Afterward, he spreads his arms, like a musician accepting applause, as if to say, “I know! That was amazing, right?”
His proclivity for marching to the beat of his own drum is also overplayed. Every time Augustus does something out of the ordinary, people stumble over themselves to express their astonishment. In one scene, he shows up in a limousine to take Hazel and her mom to the airport, and everyone gapes and shakes their head at how incredible he is.
Then there’s the matter of the dialogue. While Hazel and Augustus are both portrayed as being intelligent and clever, most of what they say sounds like goofy teen-speak - as it should. But when either of them launches into a speech about love, life, or the universe, they suddenly speak with the grandeur of Shakespeare, with poetic prose pouring out of their mouths. While they make remarkable observations, these moments feel manufactured rather than genuine.
Even the plot was designed to play with our heartstrings without any regard for how things would play out in real life. For instance, Hazel desperately wants to travel to Amsterdam to meet the author of her favorite book. At first, her doctors utter a firm no, and everyone cries, but then they say yes, and everyone is happy.
Despite all of this, I slowly became emotionally invested in this young couple. Yes, “The Fault in Our Stars” is a tearjerker, and yes, it has gangly bits, but imbedded within that awkward bone work is a deeply affecting performance by Shailene Woodley, who plays Hazel; a lot of humor; and a heartfelt message about living in the moment and making the time you have count. “The Fault in Our Stars” might be sap, but it earns its emotions.
Three stars out of four. Rated PG-13 for thematic elements, some sexuality, and brief strong language.