Paper Towns review

Unravel the mystery of Margot Roth Spiegelman.

By now you’ve probably heard of John Green. The 37 year old American author is behind some of the most popular teen books of recent times, particularly 2012s The Fault in Our Stars – already the subject of a popular adaptation.

He’s become known for a particular kind of teen novel, one which presents these younger folks as smart and articulate and hilarious rather than the awkward in-between-people of some of his contemporaries. They’re pretty great books all things considered and certainly worth your time.

His latest novel to reach the big screen is Paper Towns and it’s the story of some quick-witted kids, an adventure, mystery and road trip flick all rolled into one.

And it’s pretty good fun. It lacks the fraught emotional content of The Fault in Our Stars but does a good job of making more-or-less believable teens out of its leads.

Singer Nat Wolff returns to the John Green fold and does a decent job as Quentin. He’s not too good looking and manages to make his curious character arc feel less mopey than it might.

British model Cara Delevingne is also decent as Margo. It’s a tough role for a lot of reasons – not least the fact that she’s tough to like as a character.

The film revels in her mercurial nature, leading us on a merry dance to find the message of the picture.

There are quite a few messages in Paper Towns but they’re mostly well-meaning advice for youngsters around just getting out there and enjoying your life.

There’s a denser theme about seeing what people are really like behind the veil of friendship or passion and it’s touched on here but less carefully than in the superior book.

This adaptation plays loose with the timeline and structure of the source novel and that makes for a slightly less predictable experience.

Events are streamlined considerably and the road trip in particular unfolds quite differently, and with a lot less drama.

Paper Towns is a perfectly decent teen movie with watchable leads, nice touches of humour and a fairly rocking soundtrack. It’s pretty slight and forgettable but also less emotionally taxing than The Fault in Our Stars. The book is definitely superior.

***