3 Stars for Shailene Woodley

Rating: 3/10 (26 September 2014)

I would have given this film one star except Shailene Woodley is an excellent actress. I was first very impressed with her performance in The Descendants. But then I was simply blown away by her performance in Spectacular Now, which was a fantastic film. So when I saw this movie got over 8 stars, I had high hopes. Those hopes were quickly dashed.
This film is one long cliché. Every scene you feel like you've seen 100 times before. And except for Woodley (who they must have paid boat loads of money) the cast was not good. Woodley's parents were so miscast, I felt like they must have walked out into the hallway and grabbed the first male and female actor to walk by. Contrast this to the relationship between Miles Teller (son) and Jennifer Jason Leigh (mom) in Spectacular Now which was an amazing look at a mother-son relationship. Woodley's parents were more like placeholders to deliver the proper cliché at the proper moment.
And the fact that Woodley's character seemed to be near death in every other scene just telegraphed the fact that it was the boy who would be the one to die. I knew nothing of this story, but that was so obvious to me almost from the first scene. And OMG, the slow clap after their first kiss! That was so cheesy I cannot find the right words to describe it.
I will continue to be a fan of Shailene Woodley. But in the long- term, this film will be one she would like to forget.