The Fault in Our Stars (2014)

Augustus Waters talks like he rehearsed every line in a mirror, and the movie finds that charming. He carries an unlit cigarette as a metaphor, then explains the metaphor out loud to a girl who clearly got it the first time. A kiss inside the Anne Frank House also ends with strangers clapping, a scene that badly misjudges the room. Shailene Woodley keeps it honest anyway. Her Hazel is dry, funny and tired of being treated like a lesson, and when the story gets heavy she plays it straight, no milking. Laura Dern does a lot with a mom who’s barely holding it together and won’t let her daughter see. Willem Dafoe turns up as the grumpiest author alive. It made $307.2 million worldwide on a reported $12 million budget, so this one clearly found its people. A 6.6 because Woodley is great and the script tries way too hard to be quotable. $902 says you finish it and go hunting for a copy of An Imperial Affliction before remembering it isn’t real.

What works: Woodley’s Hazel is sharp and real, and the quiet family scenes with Laura Dern carry more weight than any of the big romantic speeches.

What doesn’t: Gus’s dialogue is so polished and precious that he sometimes sounds like a poster on a guidance counselor’s wall instead of a teenager.

Who it’s for: Teens and parents who want a good cry together and don’t mind a little poetry in their romance.