The Fault in Our Stars

Last week, I did a write-up about which actors I believe should have played the major characters in The Fault in Our Stars. Additionally, the post talks a bit about my views on the book, John Green, and reading in general. If you are interested, you can check that post out here. Now, on to the review...

Expectations:
Being so familiar with the story at hand, my hopes for The Fault in Our Stars were terribly high. My expectations, however, did not quite reach the stars... Yes, that was a pun... After viewing the trailer many, many times, I was extremely frightened at how it appeared the film would portray Hazel and Gus's love story, which is obviously the key to the success of the story in the book. Even so, I could not wait to see The Fault in Our Stars! This story and it's imminent tangibility really created a very unique movie-going experience for me. In no way am I a literary guru, but, somehow, this book had a profound effect on me, which made the characters feel so personal and familiar. All of you avid book readers are probably thinking, "Well, duh, Tanner!" and you are probably right. I'm just dumb to that feeling! Not only am I inexperienced at having read a book prior to its movie version, but also I'm not used to being so connected to characters in a book or a movie. In fact, the only comparison I have, from an emotional standpoint, is my relationship with television characters. For me, TV characters are able to connect and draw you closer, in a way that movie characters cannot, and the characters from this amazing book felt similarly connected and close to me. I apologize for the rambling... Nevertheless, there is much more ahead...

Plot:
If you took the time to read through my praise of the book, you probably know that I am going to say positive things about the plot. The movie's story was extremely true to the book, and, honestly, I don't think anyone could have done a better job of translating The Fault in Our Stars on screen. At the same time, it was easy to see that this book was not designed particularly for a big screen portrayal. Much of the story felt rushed, and, as a result, someone who hadn't read the book might not get the full effect of the evolution of the relationship between Hazel and Gus. As you know, tissues are necessary for most anyone of the female kind (not stereotyping, just speaking the truth). Almost everyone was sobbing uncontrollably, but I was just trying to pick the whole thing apart...

Characters:
If you read my post about my ideal cast, you will get a good feel for how I interpreted each character, in my readings. That post will probably give you a good understanding of each and every character, but here are a few highs and lows:

Negatives:
While many people may disagree, for me, the glaring negative in this entire film was the portrayal of Augustus Waters by Ansel Elgort. I know, he's nice to look at, and he gets along with Shailene Woodley. But, as a character who is supposed to be a year older than his love interest, the film version of Gus was just a bit too puppy-loveish. Not everyone is going to agree with me, obviously, yet there is no denying that Woodley's Hazel was in absolute control for the entire duration of their time on-screen. I know that the story is told from her perspective, but that's no reason to weaken the strength of Gus's character. Add to that the absolutely awkward/horrible portrayal of Hazel's father (Sam Trammell) and the underuse of Isaac, played very well by Nat Wolff, and you have yourself a film that did not utilize its characters as best as possible (in my opinion).

Positives:
While the guys may have struggled in their roles, the girls took charge and made the film a memorable one. Shailene Woodley's portrayal of Hazel Lancaster was pretty spot-on, which I was not expecting... at all. In an attempt to suck in stupid, teenage girls, looking for a good date movie, the trailer was not true to the film's version of Hazel, which was quite a relief to me. Additionally, Laura Dern was pretty amazing as Hazel's mom... another unexpected success. The film's portrayal of the relationship between Hazel and her mother had me way closer to tears than her relationship with Gus, which is saying something. Kudos to the filmmakers for pulling off that great relationship with what appeared to be such ease.

Conclusion:
Because my watching The Fault in Our Stars was such a personally unique situation, I must say that my judgment of the film (as a film) is likely a bit skewed. In fact, I would actually like to see the movie again before I truly pass judgment on to my awesome readers. If you are in the mood to feel, The Fault in Our Stars is exactly what the doctor ordered, as you are pretty much guaranteed at least twelve lumps in your throat. While some movies build up to one, huge, emotional moment, TFiOS just keeps you emotional the entire time. So, you have been warned! Before I change my mind about encouraging such behavior, let me say that I do believe you should read the book first, which basically goes against all of my beliefs. I'm hopeful that The Fault in Our Stars can be a uniquely awesome experience for each and every one of you, and the book is a good place to begin that journey. I give the book 4.57 out of 5 stars. I give the movie a "to be determined"...

Casting Re-Call: The Fault in Our Stars

Rarely do I take the time to read any books:

I don't usually read my textbooks for school.

It even takes serious discipline for me to read my Bible on a regular basis.

I mean, I like to read for pleasure, but watching movies is so much more efficient, right?...

If you frequent my blog, none if this information comes as a surprise to you. However, you might be surprised to know that I, Tanner Jones, read The Fault in Our Stars about 1.5 years in advance of the film's release date! Personally, I believe I'm entitled to some sort of award or cash prize, but everyone keeps telling me no...

The truth is that I am a huge fan of John and Hank Green's Vlogbrothers channel on YouTube, and, while it may be a bit teenagery of me, I believe you should check out their videos: here. If you did not know, John Green actually wrote The Fault in Our Stars, and, as it gained in popularity, I gained interest in reading the book. Actually, for the record, I read the book before it was such a big deal... I'm just saying...

Not only did I fall in love with The Fault In Our Stars, but, as a result, I have actually read two more of John's books over the past year, An Abundance of Katherines and Looking for Alaska. While Katherines was not the best, Alaska had me hooked, and I would suggest it to any reader looking for a good YA novel. Again, however, I am no book critic, so take these comments with a grain of salt!

Now, when I read a book, I like to picture the characters as whatever actor/actress I believe would/should play them in a film version of said book. I know, that's very un-readerlike and un-imaginative of me, but I really don't care. That's how I roll! And, until The Fault in Our Stars, my methods never caused any problems, because I never read books that were turned into movies (aside from classics). However, because I loved The Fault soooo much and because I read the book before the casting decisions were made, I reeeeeeally wanted the characters to be played by the actors that I had imagined as I read through the book. Of course, as could be predicted from thousands of miles away, not a single one of the actors that I longed for actually made it into the film. At first, I was frustrated. Then, I got over it. Then, the trailer came out, and I started freaking out a bit (in a bad way).

Luckily, after watching the trailer like 10-15 times (I really am excited about this one), I've gained a sense of peace about the actors that were chosen for their respective roles. Nonetheless, I refuse to believe that any of them are ideal! So, in an effort to express my opinions, I have been inspired to create a new segment called Casting Re-Call, where I go back and re-cast an entire film. Hopefully, this post will be well-received, and I can use this same format for other films in the future. I could even re-cast films that were poorly cast, after watching them, which is what I actually planned to do with this post. But, since I've already read The Fault in Our Stars and know who I wanted to see, I figured I would share with you beforehand. So, here it is... my ideal cast for The Fault in Our Stars:

Character: Hazel Grace Lancaster
Actor Chosen: Shailene Woodley
Ideal Actor: Mae Whitman
Why?: Unfortunately, after watching the trailer, Woodley's portrayal of Hazel appears waaay too ditsy and girly. In the book, Hazel was quite opinionated and strong-willed, which I believe could have been amazingly portrayed by Mae Whitman. I think Woodley will do alright, but, ideally, Whitman would have landed the role (although she would not pull near as big of an audience).

Character: Augustus Waters
Actor Chosen: Ansel Elgort
Ideal Actor: Evan Peters
Why?: The character of Augustus Waters is undoubtedly the key to making this story work, at least in my opinion. I'm not going to condemn Ansel Elgort, considering he hasn't had much of an opportunity to be analyzed. However, I do know that Evan Peters would have been AMAZING as Gus! No doubt in my mind! If you've seen American Horror Story: Asylum, that's the Evan Peters I'm talking about! Fortunately, we still got to see Peters in X-Men: Days of Future Past. Unfortunately, The Fault in Our Stars may suffer in his absence.

Character: Isaac
Actor Chosen: Nat Wolff
Ideal Actor: Michael Cera
Why?: Getting Michael Cera to come on board for a minor role would have been a difficult task, and I must say that I do like Nat Wolff. Actually, I watched Wolff a lot in The Naked Brothers Band when I was too old to be watching The Naked Brothers Band. Regardless, I think Michael Cera could have brought a certain likeability to the character (think Juno) that Wolff may not be able to bring.

Character: Patrick
Actor Chosen: Mike Birbiglia
Ideal Actor: Jack McBrayer
Why?: I don't know that much about Mike Birbiglia, but I have seen a few of his sketches, which was enough to make this casting choice completely baffling to me. Now, I haven't seen how the character is portrayed in the film yet, but I think anyone who has ever heard of Birbiglia can see the massive contrast from him to Jack McBrayer. In my opinion, nobody could have pulled this one off like McBrayer, whose comedic range is quite small. That's saying something!

Character: Peter Van Houten
Actor Chosen: Willem Dafoe
Ideal Actor: Hugh Laurie
Why?: Next to the Patrick character, the casting of Willem Dafoe as Peter Van Houten is the second most baffling to me. I thought of many different people who could have played Van Houten (Bradley Whitford, Jim Broadbent, Michael Douglas), but Willem Dafoe just seems a bit too dark. In the end, I settled on Hugh Laurie, who I think would've been absolutely great. You can be the judge when the film hits the theater.

Character: Lidewij Vliegenthart
Actor Chosen: Lotte Verbeek
Ideal Actor: Frances McDormand
Why?: While this role isn't of the utmost importance (made obvious by the only no-name actress on this list), I thought Frances McDormand would have brought with her a lot of unique possibilities. Then again, I'm no casting expert!

Character: Mr. Lancaster (Hazel's Father)
Actor Chosen: Sam Trammell
Ideal Actor: Jeff Garlin
Why?: Jeff Garlin is one of the funniest, most likeable comedic actors that I've ever seen, and Hazel's father is meant to be likeable. Of course, I always like to throw a little humor in with my drama, and I just don't see that coming from Sam Trammell. But, we will see...

Character: Mrs. Lancaster (Hazel's Mother)
Actor Chosen: Laura Dern
Ideal Actor: Kate Walsh
Why?: Kate Walsh's motherly figure from The Perks of Being a Wallflower just seemed perfect for this character as well. While I do love Laura Dern, she is just a little too likeable. Hazel's mother is supposed to be a pretty strong woman, and I just don't get that strength when I look at Dern. And, Jeff Garlin could totally snag Kate Walsh... right???

Thankfully, John Green was happy with the cast (as far as we can tell)...

And, that's all that really matters!

 



So, there it is... My first ever Casting Re-Call. I certainly hope you enjoyed. After the movie, come back, take another look, and give me all of your great opinions! Look for this segment to pop back up in the future. Also, go read all of John Green's books. He is the man!