Book/Movie Review: The Fault in our Stars

Matt and I have both had especially busy work weeks. I am teaching an online course for TTU for the first summer session (basically all of June) which means we take a whole semester of work and condense it down into one month. This also means that instead of about 2 weeks to grade assignments I have more like 2-3 days. I like to give students feedback so they can correct their mistakes for future submissions because I'm a not-yet-jaded professor for now. I will tell you that it really ticks me off when people put about 6 seconds worth of effort or plagiarize their submission and have the audacity to email me demanding to know why they got a bad grade. Comes with the territory I suppose.

Matt's schedule has been really crazy this week though. I feel bad or the guy. He has been leaving well before I even wake up and getting home after seven. Last night he had a minor catastrophe so he called and said he was going to be even later than he had intended. Since my dinner plans were out the window I decided I would go see The Fault in our Stars because I was pretty sure that he wouldn't be interested in it and I don't mind seeing movies by myself.

 We read the book for Book Club a couple months back. Its a quick and easy read. I just couldn't help but think it read like a 40 year old trying to narrate like a teenager. I did not cry during the book even though it was really sad. It just didn't really grab me like many other books do. It was also just such a sad topic (teenagers having a pretty strong grasp on mortality--and they have cancer). I wouldn't say it was a "bad" book--I just personally did not walk away saying "Wow, now I get why everyone in America is reading this book." Know what I mean?

I do get why teenagers would like this book. I don't really know how to expand on his more but my teenager idealistic self would have eaten this up. "I just put cigarettes in my mouth and don't light them... it's a metaphor." Good grief. My 27 year old says nope. "Okay." "Okay." Hand to forehead.
My 16 year old self... "Oh tell me more! You're so intuitive. Wordly. Someone I want to backpack Europe with. So dreamy." Cut to 10 year reunion: "So.... you sell vacuums, huh?"

 

But if you read the book you gotta go see the movie... right? 

The movie was...okay. Maybe even better than the book. They did a good job of leaving out the parts that I thought didn't really contribute much to the story in the book (like his former girlfriend). It seemed cast pretty well. Except Augustus. (And gah.. whats with the name? Augustus? Like Augustus Gloop?) I'm not crazy about that guy as an actor. Maybe I just couldn't get over them playing siblings in a movie I saw a month ago (Divergent). I thought she did a great job though. I also liked how they dressed her. Like... a normal person.
I didn't really cry in the movie though. I shed a tear. I didn't get super emotional though which movies often do to me. I think I was a little distracted by the lady like 15 rows up totally ugly crying though. I said a prayer for her during the movie because I can only imagine that she lost someone to cancer to have that powerful (and loud) of a reaction in a public theater.

I think I would have liked the movie more if I hadn't read the book. I think the parts that were emotionally gripping would have gripped me a little more if I didn't know what was coming. On that note--they did a pretty good job overall sticking to the book. I think movies are starting to get better about that as a whole.

I paid $7.50 to see the  movie (heck ya student ID!) and I felt at peace with my investment. That being said I think it's worth going to see. I just think you should see the movie first and then read the book because I think it will help maximize your entertainment overall.

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