I thought this movie did a very good job of condensing the themes of the book and that the acting was top-notch.* However, I found the interruption of the frenetic road trip (my favorite part of the book) brought a halt to the movie’s forward momentum. Overall, a very nice film and also the rare teenage film where the happy ending isn’t what you think it’s going to be.**
Cost: $5.00
Where watched: Regal Vancouver City Center 12
*Special props for the people who mostly cast actors who look like teenagers to play the teenagers.
**And, I must add, I’ve taken a bus from Upstate New York to Massachusetts, which is the state next door. It took 12 hours to go 364 miles. There is no way he could get from New York to Florida via bus in anything less than several days.
http://www.impawards.com/2015/paper_towns.html
It’s funny, because I loved this book when I read it (also appreciated the non-standard ending) but from the movie trailer, it looked really annoying. When I thought about it for a while, I realized that “quirky, mysterious girl that the male protagonist falls for” has become a pretty standard trope in YA and that I’ve grown tired of it, so I’ll probably skip the movie.
And I find it really annoying when writers don’t verify easily verifiable facts. I recently read a book set in Santa Monica where the main character kept taking his dog to the beach, which you can’t do here. You’ll get a very hefty ticket. The nearest dog-friendly beach is a decent car ride away, so it’s not something you’re going to do every day. That mistake took me right out of the story. This is why I don’t write contemporary fiction, haha. I’m too lazy to verify facts like this.
The quirky mysterious girl in Paper Towns was my least favorite part of that book.
To be clear, the BOOK author did not have his main character taking a bus from New York to Orlando over a few hours. That was the MOVIE people making a change to the book.
But yes, annoying.
As I have already said, the missing-ness, had a more frantic feel in the book. When we really weren’t sure what had happened to her it felt more real. When it was just based on what felt like flimsy (ish) feelings.