The cast of Paper Towns successfully delivers laugh-out-loud performances while asking the questions: what should I do with the rest of my life? And what is the significance of my existence?
The movie opens with 14-year-old Quentin (“Q”), who experiences love at first sight when vibrant and vivacious Margo Roth Spiegelman moves next door. The two youngsters build a fast friendship despite their significant differences. They are conservative Quentin and rebellious Margo. Years pass and the two adolescents grow naturally apart. Margo becomes the most popular, gorgeous girl in school, and Q develops into a straight-A student, still stuck in love with Margo Roth Spiegelman.
Everything changes one night when Margo shows up at Q’s window requesting that he go on one last adventure for old time’s sake. The adventure entails revenge on her cheating ex-boyfriend, cheating ex-best friend, second best friend who supposedly knew of the cheating, and cheating ex-boyfriend’s best friend. Q reluctantly agrees and partakes in the hilarious pranks crafted by the magnificent Margo including breaking and entering, eyebrow shaving, and spray-painting.
The night comes to a close with Margo and Q on a rooftop, looking over the view of the town. Margo mysteriously compares the Orlando town below as a “Paper Town”: “All the paper kids drinking beer some bum bought for them at the paper convenience store,” he says. “Everyone demented with the mania of owning things. All the things paper-thin and paper-frail. And all the people, too. I’ve lived here for 18 years and I have never once in my life come across anyone who cares about anything that matters.”
Q wakes up the morning after to no Margo. The weeks that follow leave Q wondering why Margo left and what that night meant. With the help of his hilarious best friends Radar, Ben, and new friend Lacey, Q searches for Margo, following clues she leaves.
While the first 20 minutes are executed brilliantly by Delevingne and cast, unfortunately the middle portion of the film loses momentum due to an unmemorable plot and unlikely circumstances comprised primarily of Q and his friends revealing clues left by Margo. The fortunate saving grace comes from the hilarity of supporting actors Radar and Ben, played by Justice Smith and Austin Abrams respectively. Ben recalls the toned-downed characteristics of Stifler from American Pie and is inappropriately hilarious throughout, making countless MILF jokes towards Q’s mom. Radar is equally hilarious with his family’s collection of black Santas and delivers the role of the sensible best friend with ease.
Nerdfighters, for the most part, will be pleased with the movie adaptation of Paper Towns brought to life by an engaging cast and an unexpected cameo by a familiar friend. The movie, with all its clichés, will surprise some with its unexpected ending, breaking the film’s fairy-tale façade.
Despite its plot flaws and farfetched scenarios, Paper Towns is a must see for Nerdfighters and comedy goers alike.
