Paper Towns

Margo (Cara Delevinge) and Q (Nat Wolff) carry out their plan for
high school revenge (FoxMovies)

As John Green's readers know very well by now, Paper Towns is no The Fault in Our Stars. Of course, I mainly say this in regards to the plot - for just because this movie too is about two teens in a maybe-romance and is by the same author and stars Nat Wolff does not mean we should expect the same atmosphere, themes, or story. But when I say this movie is not TFiOS, I'm also referring to it's quality. Paper Towns stands on its own as a good high school movie, but aside from a compelling mystery twist, it is incapable of standing out much more than others in its genre.

Nat Wolff stars as Quentin (aka "Q") - a reserved, results-oriented senior who appreciates consistency but lacks spontaneity in his life. That's where Margo Roth Spiegelman comes in. Quentin and Margo grew up next door to each other, but during their tween years, Margo realized Q's anchored lifestyle wasn't enough to match her reckless behaviors. They drift apart until one night their senior year, where Margo slips into Quentin's room. With a determined look on her face, Margo asks Q to serve as her getaway driver for a contrived revenge plot against her cheating boyfriend and her friends who didn't rat him out. Apparently that's a big no-no in girl-world. (I went to an all-boys high school, don't judge me.)

After re-establishing a connection, Margo and Q part following their misadventurous night of pulling pranks and ruining social lives, leaving Q with hope of a possible future with Margo. But the next morning, she goes missing. While her family and friends write it off as typical Margo behavior, Q thinks it's her way of calling him to come find her. Q finds clues around town, and rounds up a group of his friends to pile into his mom's mini-van to trek across the coast to find her, vowing to be back before their prom night.

Wolff and Delevinge make for an alluring on-screen pair, and perform their parts perfectly fine, but the duo that made me enjoy the movie most was Austin Abrams and Halston Sage. They play Quentin and Margo's respective best friends Ben and Lacey who tag along on the road trip. Both of these supporting actors give hysterical and sincere star-making performances - especially Abrams, who plays a goofball sidekick, a hopeless romantic, and a scene-stealing, beer-filled partygoer in a single role that shows a wide array of acting chops.

With it's element of mystery, the movie does warrant a watch if you're afraid it'll be just like every other movie of its kind. Thankfully, this isn't entirely the case. It has some detractors to it though - mainly its all too familiar tone and it's inclusion of certain ideas and behaviors I personally don't condone on a moral level.

Paper Towns suffices as a more-often-than-not enjoyable high school movie. It was nice to see that the filmmakers were trying to add something new to the teen movie genre, though the execution showed they weren't entirely successful. If anything, it's a showcase of a few new faces and some old ones delivering good performances throughout a story that's just past the threshold of keeping your continuous interest.

Rating: 3/5