Score: 3/5
Throughout life’s stages, people tend to sit on the “what ifs” of the past, whether they tread lightly or sink in thought. The film “Paper Towns” tries to influence a generation out of that pattern with a story of spontaneity and friendship.
Nat Wolff plays the nerdy and adorable Quentin “Q” Jacobsen, who’s infatuated with his neighbor and favorite childhood memory, the popular and mysterious Margo Roth Spiegelman (Cara Delevingne).
The two drifted apart through the years but reconnect one night toward the end of their high school senior year.
Spiegelman’s known for adventurous quests and experiences near and far, so it’s not a surprise when she unexpectedly shows up at Jacobsen’s window to recruit him as her partner in crime/getaway driver on a trail of vengeful pranks.
Jacobsen returns to reality with high hopes, but Spiegelman is nowhere to be found. She’s run away again and left everyone in school guessing her whereabouts.
Jacobsen takes the few clues Spiegelman placed for him as an invitation to adventure and possibly love. He brings his findings to new heights with help from his two best friends, Ben and “Radar,” and Spiegelman’s best friend, Lacey.
When the team becomes distracted by their “lasts” of high school, Jacobsen places the mission on his shoulders, consumed in a stream of trial and error to locate Spiegelman, which eventually brings them all on an ultimate road trip.
Unfortunately, I read the book after seeing previews but before seeing the film. My expectations were high as I pictured Wolff and Delevingne while reading and felt they were perfect casting choices for “Q” and Margo.
Poor decisions in direction and writing resulted in forced important lines and twisted or dropped most details. This lack of consistency and focus on more ambiguous themes in author John Green’s work changed the mood as a whole, turning a suspenseful novel into another teen movie.
Compared to “The Fault in Our Stars,” the first film adaptation of a Green novel, “Paper Towns” is a disappointment for fans.
But it does make a nod to the former film with a guest appearance that almost makes up for the loss (although Wolff’s return for another Green work was already a perk.)
For all viewers alike, “Paper Towns” is entertaining but not spectacular.
It’s a youthful, nostalgic and mischievous movie with biting humor through all of high school’s whims and woes. At the same time, it draws attention to flaws of human perception and how disconnected people can feel from each other and the world.
Taylor Wiley is a 20-year-old mass communication junior from Gonzales, Louisiana.