Starring: Nat Wolff, Cara Delevingne, Halston Sage, Austin Abrams, Justice Smith
Director: Jake Schreier
Genre: Drama, comedy
Running time: 109 minutes
Now showing at: Cinema Magic, Metroplex Mall Naalya, Century Cinemax, Acacia Mall, Kisementi and Cineplex, The Hub, Oasis Mall.
The last adaption of a John Green book had us using tissues generously, and the guys pretending it was just a cold making them sniff. The Fault In Our Stars was just that tear-jerking! Thankfully, Paper Towns does not have teens battling terminal illness.
Instead, the teens are following bizarre clues. The teens, Q (Wolff), Lacey (Sage), Ben (Abrams) and Radar (Smith) go on a road trip going wherever the clues lead. Let’s rewind a bit to how they end up on the road. Q grew up next door to the enigmatic Margo (Delevingne), and while they were friends in childhood, they drifted apart over the years. Q, however, has always been in love with Margo so he pines after her from a distance, regaling us with his feelings as he narrates.
One night, Margo climbs into his room, asking him for help to carry out a few acts of revenge on people she says have been mean to her over the years. Q doesn’t need a lot of convincing and tags along, even when he thinks some of her actions are a little extreme.
After a few days, Margo is missing. Q finds some things related to the conversation he had with her during their escapade and concludes that they are clues from Margo. When he tells his friends that he is going to find Margo, they volunteer to tag along –as any loyal friend would.
In short, Paper Towns is a teen movie. However, you wouldn’t call it your average teen movie with the clichéd high school drama. Sure there is a boy pining after a girl he cannot have but his friends are voices of reason. Then there is the good cast, especially Wolff and Delevingne. I had my biases with Delevingne, and had pegged her as a model turned wannabe actress –think Tyra Banks. Sure she has done some acting before but those were minor roles. She holds her own in Paper Towns, portraying quite the girl of mystery –and not in that cute and coy way.
However, the movie leaves you feeling like there should have been so much more. For example, we don’t get to know why Q is so in love with Margo. Watch it and see what I mean.
