Description: Hazel and Gus are two teenagers who share an acerbic wit, a disdain for the conventional, and a love that sweeps them on a journey. Their relationship is all the more miraculous given that Hazel’s other constant companion is an oxygen tank, Gus jokes about his prosthetic leg, and they met and fell in love at a cancer support group.
Director: Josh Boone
Stars: Shailene Woodley, Ansel Elgort, Nat Wolff
Information from IMDB.
Julie’s Review 
The Fault In Our Stars movie was a great adaptation. I have to say I was nervous, since I’m not a huge fan of Shailene Woodley. I didn’t quite like her in Divergent and was surprised she was chosen for this movie as well. While I thought it strange that Ansel Elgort played her brother in Divergent, and her love interest in this movie, he was phenomenal. Ansel was the perfect Augustus Waters. His performance was excellent, and I was pleasantly surprised because I didn’t think much of him in Divergent.
TFIOS was both fun and light-hearted and emotionally moving. While I didn’t cry, I know a lot of people who did. I’m just not a crier, sorry world. I felt the movie followed the book very well, with a few minor changes that didn’t really cause the overall plot to feel any different. I was happy to see how well it captured the essence of the book, which I re-read right before going to see the movie. I definitely recommend it to fans of the book.
Rose’s Review
Okay, for the record, Julie chose my color of font, not me. So wow! This is HOTT pink! So yeah, about the movie. I had my reservations. When I saw the previews, I thought that Hazel did not look sick enough. The oxygen looked way too much like a prop and not like something Hazel needed. Hazel did not LOOK like she had cancer in the movie. I also thought that Gus was not attractive enough and of course, like many Divergent fans out there, I worried that playing siblings in one movie would not transfer so well into playing bf/gf in another movie.
So did I like the movie? Yes. Did I cry? Yes. Do I want to see it again? No. For those of you who know me, you know what a big deal this is for me. I saw Twilight NINE times in the theatres and The Hunger Games three times. I must have read/listened to this book over a dozen times. I own the hard back first edition (with the mistake), a signed hardback, a paperback spanish translation, and the audio book read by the amazing Kate Rudd. I also have the movie poster, but that is besides the point. I do not know if I will buy this movie when it comes out on DVD. My mom asked if I wanted to go see the movie again with her since she wasn’t able to go when I saw it the first time and I told her that I did not think I could sit through it again. That is not to say that it was bad. It was not. It was, however, very draining for me.
Some things were obviously different in the movie than in the book, but none seemed to matter that much. I felt like important parts were all included in the movie. The minor changes did not bother me much, except the ending. The ending line is one of my all time favorite ending lines of a book ever. And they changed the last line to something different in the movie. It was good. And it honestly fit the movie better, but I LOVED the last lines of the book. So yeah, that kinda bothered me. Other than that, I missed the funny scenes between the parents and Augustus and Hazel. The parents did not seem as developed of characters in the movie as they were in the book. My last complaint was that Hazel tells movie viewers at the beginning of the movie that this isn’t your usual Hollywood cancer story. This is the truth. Sorry. And yet…. it was too pretty. Both Hazel and Gus never really looked sick. I remember the book being pretty gritty in some places, but the movie really seemed to sugar coat things in my opinion. I guess though in the end, I really didn’t want to see Hazel and Gus suffer more on the big screen than I already knew they had in the book.
What did you think of the movie? Sound off in the comments.
I agree with you both that the movie was a pretty good adaptation of the book. I feel the opposite of you, Julie, with the actors – I like Shailene more than Ansel. I thought she was cast well for Hazel but was disappointed Ansel was cast for Gus. As Rose said, I didn’t think he was attractive enough to play Gus. And I feel so bad saying that, lol! Looks wise, he wasn’t a good choice to play Gus. Acting wise, I’d say he nailed Gus’s personality. I don’t think he looked sick at all when he was supposed to be dying. He looked way too healthy, and that bothered me.
When Rose wrote about the worry about the actors playing siblings in one movie and boyfriend-girlfriend in another, I thought that has to be awkward. Even though they’re actors, wouldn’t that be strange? There had to have been a lot of jokes made I’d imagine. 😛 And I agree about missing the funny moments between the parents and Hazel and Gus. I think Gus looked way too healthy especially when he was supposed to be actively dying. I never really thought too much about that with Hazel looking sick or not, but I do think the fact that they didn’t look very sick probably contributed to my lack of crying. I took my 11 year old daughter and my friend’s niece who’s 14 to see the movie. We’d all read the book and took an entire box of tissues just in case, and none of us used them. I felt like a monster!! >.<
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I think if I hadn’t recently watched Divergent, I wouldn’t have had that reaction. Yea I did picture Gus to be more attractive, but I agree with you that he nailed the personality! I don’t think you should feel bad for not crying. Movie crying isn’t for everyone.
I could have used at least one tissue, but yeah, I thought I would need more. It was draining, but I didn’t sob the way I did when reading the books.
I hate to admit it, but it will take a LOT to get me to see this movie. That being said, I am going to the beach with my sisters next week, and one of them has already mentioned wanting to see it . . . We’ll see . . . but I don’t wanna. I’m hoping I can convince them to see How to Train Your Dragon 2 or Snowpiercer, LOL.
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It is definitely worth watching if you enjoyed the book, but then do something happy right after.
I liked both Ansel and Shailene much more in TFiOS.
I agree. This was a much better role for both of them.
“While I thought it strange that Ansel Elgort played her brother in Divergent, and her love interest in this movie, …”
I have not seen the movie yet, but just the thought of this still creeps me out a bit. It took me ages to not think of Jeremy Sisto as the spoiled rich boy who killed the dolphin in White Squall. When he played Jesus in TV movie every time an ad came on I think, “That guy can’t play Jesus he killed a dolphin!” I have moved on, but for a long time whenever I saw him that’s all I could think of!
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That’s funny. I could see myself getting stuck on something like that as well.
I really liked it. I thought it managed to keep the humour of the original without turning into a fourteen hour sob-fest.
Yes, I was glad that they didn’t drag the movie out and that the humor was still prevalent like it is in the book.
I love watching movies a couple of times, but I think TFIOS will be emotionally exhausting for me too. I haven’t seen the movie yet, cuz in my country it comes out in September. -_- So, I’m so jealous of you guys!!! Anyhow, I’m glad to hear that the movie stayed close to the book, even though they changed some minor parts. 😀
Lovely reviews!
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Well that is a little while to wait, but that gives you a chance to re-read the book before seeing it, right?