From the trailer this movie intrigued me because it seemed to follow a premise that I (and probably others) have dreamed about. Spending a night causing havoc without consequences. Then essentially going on a glorified scavenger hunt to find true love. There is just something about putting together a puzzle and going against the grain that is extremely satisfying. However, I felt Paper Towns did not necessarily deliver on this "puzzle-solving" catharsis. What did come across in spades, was a message on how pointless life can be, if you let it. Margo Roth Spiegelman is the goal of the hunt as well as the epitome of living. She does everything in her power to give her life meaning, which is a powerful theme in our society pervaded by self-doubt.
Unfortunately one of my biggest complaints, was that the movie was too much like real life. The protag could be me, and the bitter-sweet ending left a bad taste in my mouth. Movies should be more of an escape from reality rather than a play-by-play. Having gone through the high school to college transition myself I can understand how this part of life is emotional. All the scenes of the high school band room tugged at some heartstrings, but I have gotten over it. Life moves on.
Now, I am a big fan of John Green on YouTube (I love Mental Floss), and that's another reason I wanted to support this movie by seeing it in theaters. I love the fact that YouTubers have gotten to the point where making a movie is possible and the support they get is incredible as well. Additionally awesome is that he continues to support that community while still pursuing a professional life.
In the end, this is not a film I would necessarily recommend off hand because the niche it fills is very small. It was well made and written with a couple great laughs, but several scenes and relationships seemed out of place. Maybe the book explained things more, but it just did not click with me.
6/10
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