The storytellers are not afraid to give viewers the opportunity to compare these relationships on their own merits, giving adolescents credit for enough maturity to comprehend the difference.Īt the same time, these teens, who have an added level of seriousness due to their illnesses, are supported and loved by strong, caring parents. In contrast to that, early on in the movie, Isaac has a cringe-worthy make-out session with his soon-to-be-ex-girlfriend, which elicits nothing but distaste and mortification. The one scene of this nature gives viewers two people who, in spite of all of the complications that each one brings to the table, love each other and take a delight in each other reminiscent of Song of Songs. Green, in his effusive and abundant blog posts answering questions about the story, says that he wanted to depict two young people who, rather than being defined by cancer, are defined by their very humanness, which includes the same sexual desire that any other teen would experience. Many parents will take issue with the fact that these teens use strong language, and even more that they do, in fact, have sex. Over time, they begin to show more vulnerability to each other. Augustus comes equipped with a sense of bravado as he searches for a way to be a grand hero. Yet at the same time, some of the most important moments of the movie occur in that church, in the “heart of Jesus,” so there is a sense of deeper meaning and experience there.Īugustus and Hazel grow close, though Hazel refuses to entertain romantic gestures as she considers herself a live “grenade” that could blow up at any moment and do irreparable damage. There are jokes about attending meetings in “the literal heart of Jesus,” in a church basement on a rug that pictures Jesus. The leader of the support group, for example, feels he has a lot of answers to offer, even though he is still trying to find his way out of his parents’ basement. The movie, like the book, sometimes skewers the way we as Christians try to minimize the pain of suffering and loss. Big questions are at stake here, and this story offers a multitude of ways people try to answer them. As the movie emphasizes, “Pain demands to be felt.” The Fault in Our Stars offers no easy answers, and it pokes fun of the way we attempt to give them to people who are suffering. He learned that there are no simple answers to give to a young person who is struggling with a terminal illness.
But more than that, this is a serious, articulate, compelling story about serious, articulate, compelling teenagers who are trying to find the meaning in their limited lives.Īuthor John Green, who as a young man considered a career as a minister, spent time as a student chaplain at a children’s hospital.
“Fun” might not be the right word, though it is certainly entertaining at times. So far everything about this screams “fun Friday night at the movies,” right? He is attending the support group as company for his friend Isaac, who has already lost one eye to cancer and will soon undergo surgery to remove the other. Her world has become very small, consisting of her parents, treatment, television, and a required cancer support group for teens that she initially detests.Įnter Augustus Waters, a charming and observant 18-year-old cancer survivor who lost a leg to the disease. Seventeen-year-old Hazel Grace Lancaster has terminal thyroid cancer. The movie is based on-and stays quite faithful to-the young adult novel of the same title by John Green. The Fault in Our Stars is a hopeful story about someone in an apparently hopeless situation.