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Paper towns, common sense media reviewers.

Smart, edgy adaptation captures the humor of self-discovery.

A Lot or a Little?

What you will—and won't—find in this movie.

A person should never be considered a myth, becaus

Quentin's best friends, Radar and Ben, are loy

An angry jock pushes a much smaller guy against a

A teen guy swears he had sex with two girls. A tee

One "f--k," plus a few uses of "s--

Brands/products seen include Honda Odyssey, Volvo,

Underage drinking at a high school party (one char

Positive Messages

A person should never be considered a myth, because that strips them of both their flaws and their humanities. Teens should go outside their comfort zone. Discourages the objectification of girls as "manic pixie dream girl" creatures and encourages living in the present and nurturing close friendships. Communication is an important theme.

Positive Role Models

Quentin's best friends, Radar and Ben, are loyal, honest, and kind, and they help him even when they think his plan is a little nuts. Lacey isn't "just" a pretty face, proving that first impressions are superficial and don't capture the "real" her. Quentin cares so much about Margo that he's willing to put himself in danger to find her. On the downside, the parents are either clueless, non-existent, or unhelpful.

Violence & Scariness

An angry jock pushes a much smaller guy against a locker and threatens him before backing down. A van nearly crashes and ends up stalled on the side of the road, scaring all the teens on board.

Did you know you can flag iffy content? Adjust limits for Violence & Scariness in your kid's entertainment guide.

Sex, Romance & Nudity

A teen guy swears he had sex with two girls. A teen couple is caught having sex; viewers see the guy running out of the house naked (he's covering his crotch, but his butt is visible). The same couple is shown on a bed; the girl, wearing just a bra, is on top of the guy, moaning and kissing him. A guy tells his friends that he and his girlfriend are planning to lose their virginity on prom night. One scene of making out leads (off camera) to sex. A character repeatedly makes comments about Q's "hot" mom, whom he would love to have sex with ("tap," "hit that," etc.).

Did you know you can flag iffy content? Adjust limits for Sex, Romance & Nudity in your kid's entertainment guide.

One "f--k," plus a few uses of "s--t," "a--hole," and "Jesus Christ" (as an exclamation). Scatological humor includes a guy peeing into two cans while in a moving car.

Did you know you can flag iffy content? Adjust limits for Language in your kid's entertainment guide.

Products & Purchases

Brands/products seen include Honda Odyssey, Volvo, iPhone, Saran Wrap, Nair, Converse, and Pokemon .

Drinking, Drugs & Smoking

Underage drinking at a high school party (one character does a couple of keg stands). One character is so drunk that he throws up.

Did you know you can flag iffy content? Adjust limits for Drinking, Drugs & Smoking in your kid's entertainment guide.

Parents Need to Know

Parents need to know that Paper Towns is another adaptation of a best-selling young adult novel by John Green ( The Fault in Our Stars ). But unlike that tear-jerking love story, this is more of a comical coming-of-age mystery about a high school senior who convinces his friends to search for his smart, beautiful neighbor, who's disappeared just a couple of weeks before graduation. Language is infrequent but does include one memorable "f--k," as well as "s--t," "a--hole," and "bitch." Sexual content is more pervasive than in Fault in Our Stars ; there are a few scenes of off-camera sex, including one in which the guy is caught running out of a house naked (his butt is visible). Another shows a bra-clad teen girl atop a guy, moaning and kissing him. There are also references to virginity loss and comments about a mom that one teen boy says he wants to "tap"/"hit"/etc. Drinking is also an issue: One sequence takes place at a big party where teens do keg stands and -- in one case -- get so drunk they throw up. But the movie compellingly explores relatable coming-of-age issues like taking chances, first love, best friendship, and the difference between fake and genuine people and personalities. To stay in the loop on more movies like this, you can sign up for weekly Family Movie Night emails .

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Community Reviews

Parents say (16)
Kids say (45)

Based on 16 parent reviews

Paper Towns is a wonderful adventurous movie any teen will enjoy!

What's the story.

PAPER TOWNS is the adaptation of best-selling young adult author John Green 's third novel , a coming-of-age story that follows Quentin "Q" Jacobsen ( Nat Wolff ), a Duke-bound high school senior who plays by the rules but not-so-secretly harbors a decade-long crush on his beautiful, popular, eccentric neighbor, Margo Roth Spiegelman (Cara Delevigne). When Margo shows up in Q's room one night and asks him to accompany her on a late-night revenge mission against her cheating boyfriend and lying best friends, he tentatively agrees -- and finds himself caught up in Margo's charismatic persona. But the next day she's not at school, and after a few days, it's clear she's missing (or has run away, depending on how you look at it). One day Q finds a clue left by Margo that leads him to another clue he believes will lead him to her. Enlisting his best friends, Radar (Justice Smith) and Ben (Austin Abrams); Radar's girlfriend, Angela (Jaz Sinclair); and Margo's best friend, Lacey (Halston Sage), Q sets out on road trip to a "paper town" in upstate New York, where all signs point to Margo.

Is It Any Good?

This movie doesn't require the amount of emotional investment or elicit the kind of tearful response as The Fault in Our Stars , but it's well-acted and humor-filled. Paper Towns is a coming-of-age story about how the girl one guy is searching for is more of an idea than an actual person. The movie, just like the book on which it's based, makes it clear that Q's quest for the mythical adventurer Margo Roth Spiegelman isn't so much about her as it is about him. Wolff, who was wonderful as Gus' best friend, Isaac, in TFIOS, hits it out of the park again as the slightly bland Q, who finally takes risks once Margo reappears into his life. And model-turned-actress Delevigne is effective as the magnetic MRS, though she's not what makes the movie special.

It's the supporting young actors -- and their chemistry with Wolff's Q -- that make Paper Towns more about friendship than love. As the son of the world's biggest collectors of Black Santas, Radar is an understated source of hilarity. And as the class-clown bestie with imaginary girlfriends, Ben is a hoot. All three actors genuinely look like regular, nerdy teens -- a big plus when watching a teen film. There are some obvious deviations from Green's book, but they're mostly for the sake of moving the story forward. And even the differences that aren't as understandable are forgiven, because Q and his friends are memorably funny on screen, and they'll make you think about everything from flawed perceptions to friendships that last far beyond prom and graduation.

Talk to Your Kids About ...

Families can talk about whether Paper Towns is a successful adaptation. What changes did the filmmakers make, and you do you understand why they made them? What parts of the movie captured the book best, and what parts of the book did you miss not seeing in the movie?

How does the movie depict teen sexuality and drinking ? Are there realistic consequences? Parents, talk to your teens about your values on these issues.

Contrast Q's relationship with Margo to the other romances in the story. Which one is portrayed the healthiest? Which one is the most believable? Critics of Green's story have called Margo the ultimate "manic pixie dream girl," but if Quentin acknowledges that he's been objectifying her -- and that she's not what he dreamed her to be -- does the criticism still hold? How does the book/movie subvert the idea of a beautiful, quirky girl as a myth?

How does Paper Towns promote communication ? Why is this an important character strength ?

Lacey confronts Quentin about how people perceive her. Do you agree that people see beautiful, popular teens and make assumptions, just as they would for a bespectacled band kid like Radar?

Movie Details

In theaters : July 24, 2015
On DVD or streaming : October 20, 2015
Cast : Nat Wolff , Cara Delevingne , Halston Sage
Director : Jake Schreier
Inclusion Information : Female actors, Pansexual actors, Queer actors
Studio : Twentieth Century Fox
Genre : Drama
Topics : Book Characters , High School
Character Strengths : Communication
Run time : 109 minutes
MPAA rating : PG-13
MPAA explanation : some language, drinking, sexuality and partial nudity - all involving teens
Award : Common Sense Selection
Last updated : June 27, 2024

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The Fault in Our Stars

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Paper Towns Reviews

The cast brings the material to life, breathing life into a story that is simultaneously overwritten and under realised.

Full Review | Original Score: 3/5 | Feb 3, 2021

Paper Towns is a coming-of-age film that doesn't always get it right. But, when it does, it transcends the message across quite evidently.

Full Review | Original Score: 3/5 | Jan 24, 2021

Hollywood can surprise us and serve up an honest, funny, entertaining, and endearing film.

Full Review | Original Score: 3.5/4.0 | Sep 19, 2020

Whether for looking forward or looking back, Paper Towns is worth the trip.

Full Review | Original Score: B- | Oct 16, 2019

An endearingly modest and quietly affecting adaptation of an early novel by wildly popular young-adult author John Green (The Fault in our Stars).

Full Review | Original Score: 3/5 | Sep 20, 2019

Though it might not rival Easy A, Paper Towns has a place amongst the higher-quality teen films that have been gracing our screens in recent years.

Full Review | Original Score: 3/5 | May 4, 2019

The worst thing about Paper Towns isn't that it's poorly made or majorly flawed; it's that it's so humble and plain and unexciting that it saps the life out of you. It even sucks the life out of its talents.

Full Review | Original Score: 4/10 | Mar 12, 2019

Nevertheless, this is a charming, engaging movie.

Full Review | Original Score: 7/10 | Nov 2, 2018

It's actually quite harmless, and, at the end of a very long, slow, uneventful journey, it has an excellent message. I just wish the point could have been made with a little more panache.

Full Review | Aug 22, 2018

Look up the definition of "paper towns." Reading the definition in a dictionary will be more entertaining than seeing this movie.

Full Review | Original Score: 0.5/4 | Aug 21, 2018

'Paper Towns' is an admirable film more due to what it tries to do, than to the final product, and although it does entertain, it could've done a lot more. [Full review in Spanish]

Full Review | Original Score: 2.5/4 | Feb 1, 2018

A healthy amount of self-deprecating humor and self-awareness would have saved this well-intentioned (if meek) script from eternal mediocrity.

Full Review | Original Score: C- | Aug 24, 2017

I like everything about Paper Towns except for its premise and central romance. Yes, I know those sort of seem like dealbreakers, but the things I liked about Paper Towns marginally outweighed the things I didn't like. Marginally.

Full Review | Original Score: 2.5/4 | Jun 12, 2016

Ferris Bueller said it best: 'Life moves pretty fast. If you don't stop and look around once in a while, you could miss it.' 'Paper Towns' reminds us not to miss our life.

Full Review | Original Score: 3/5 | Jun 3, 2016

'Paper Towns' may well be the Manic Pixie Dream Girl's nadir.

Full Review | May 27, 2016

Overall, Paper Towns is a good and solid, if somewhat lengthy, film. The film is structurally and visually conventional with the odd glimmer of indie quirk.

Full Review | Original Score: 3/5 | May 5, 2016

Destined to play second banana to last year's critical and commercial darling "The Fault In Our Stars." But as second bananas go, it's not a bad one.

Full Review | Original Score: 3/5 | Apr 16, 2016

A smart script peppered with genuinely witty dialogue and some nuanced acting by a young ensemble cast at least keep this coming-of-age story watchable throughout.

Full Review | Original Score: 3/5 | Apr 6, 2016

This is not a film that stings, lasts or moves - it's just a nice indie movie at the end of the day.

Full Review | Original Score: 2.5/5 | Apr 5, 2016

With the overarching story so unengaging, coupled with Margot's fondness for making worldly statements no 18-year-old can say without sounding pretentious, this turns out to be better on paper.

Full Review | Original Score: 2/5 | Jan 2, 2016

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Starring Nat Wolff and Cara Delevingne, Jake Schreier's film is the first from the John Green stable since the smash "The Fault in Our Stars."

By Todd McCarthy

Todd McCarthy

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Based on an earlier teen fave novel by The Fault in Our Stars author John Green , Paper Towns is a mild coming-of-ager about dawning awareness and life lessons learned among a small group of Florida high school seniors. Part mystery story, part road movie and part pre-prom graduation romp, the film is most interesting as a perspective on adolescence in which all the girls are more mature, nervy and perceptive than any of the boys, who have some catching up to do if they’re to have a chance with any of them. This one won’t rake in anywhere near the $307 million Stars generated internationally last summer, but Fox will still make a tidy sum with this modest entry that begins rolling out in foreign territories next week, ahead of the July 24 domestic bow.

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Paper Towns Review

Paper Towns is the most enjoyable high school movie of 2015. Unlike say, Me and Earl and the Dying Girl, you can’t feel the movie trying hard to make you like it. Paper Towns loves the characters created by author John Green (The Fault in Our Stars) and each step of the way feels natural (if not entirely believable) because director Jake Schreier (Robot & Frank) and screenwriters Scott Neustadter and Michael Weber (The Spectacular Now, The Fault in Our Stars) allow them to be who they love. And I loved these guys together.

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Film Review: ‘Paper Towns’

The second John Green adaptation in as many years is a less tearjerking, more affecting teen drama than 'The Fault in Our Stars.'

By Justin Chang

Justin Chang

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The title of “ Paper Towns ” refers to a trick that cartographers use to keep their maps from being copied by competitors. But it also describes, in a less literal sense, that brand of suburban disillusionment where everything and everyone in life seems phony, stifling and two-dimensional — a condition to which some sensitive teenagers can be especially susceptible. If it’s authenticity these young adults seek, they could do far worse than this second film drawn from a John Green bestseller (after last year’s hit “The Fault in Our Stars”): It may not subvert every cliche of the high-school romance genre, but director Jake Schreier’s coming-of-age dramedy nonetheless pulses with moving and melancholy moments as it follows a 17-year-old boy who spends an unforgettable night with the girl of his dreams, then decides to pursue her when she suddenly leaves town the next day.

Athough it shares several producers, a writing team (Scott Neustadter and Michael H. Weber) and an actor (Nat Wolff) with Josh Boone’s adaptation of “The Fault in Our Stars,” Schreier’s film seems unlikely to match its predecessor’s runaway commercial success ($307 million worldwide). Which is a bit of a shame, insofar as “Paper Towns” turns out to be the better movie — less tearjerking and more affecting, and populated by characters who are presented not as paragons of cancer-riddled virtue, but rather as flawed, ordinary young individuals who are touchingly vulnerable to the social pressures and sexual anxieties of contemporary teenage life. That’s true even of those who try to rise above (or sink below) it all, like Quentin Jacobson (Wolff), a high-school senior in Orlando, Fla., who has long since absorbed the perks of being a wallflower. He’s a good student, shy but not irredeemably awkward, and utterly disinterested in going to prom, unlike his two best friends, the smart, self-conscious Radar (Justice Smith) and the goofy, perpetually horny Ben (Austin Abrams).

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That Margo is something of a mystery becomes even more apparent the next day, when she runs away from home — not for the first time, according to her blithely indifferent mother (Susan Macke Miller). But Quentin is bent on finding her, especially after he stumbles on what appears to be a trail of clues that she left behind — a Woody Guthrie poster here, a message in an abandoned mini-mall there — and that will lead him to a real-life “paper town” where she may have taken up temporary residence. Tagging along for this unplanned road trip are Ben, Radar and his g.f., Angela (Jaz Sinclair), and popular girl Lacey Pemberton (Halston Sage), who’s worried about what might have happened to Margo. Yet the group’s concern takes on conflicting shades as Quentin’s determination begins to tilt into obsession, and he learns firsthand the dangers of idealizing someone he doesn’t really know, while taking for granted the ones he does.

Despite the movie’s puzzle-like structure, Schreier (who directed the 2012 Sundance fave “Robot & Frank”) keeps “Paper Towns” recognizably steeped in the common rituals of young adulthood, which is to say the well-worn conventions of so much teen cinema. There are house parties and pop quizzes, locker-side confrontations and urine accidents, plus some raunchy talk about hot moms and sexually transmitted diseases. Large quantities of beer are consumed and disgorged, and parental supervision is pretty minimal. Quentin and his friends play out their adventures against a wall-to-wall indie-rock soundtrack that proves overly insistent yet undeniably effective, catching us up in a swirl of emotion as the characters make their way up the East Coast and back, all en route to a moving prom-night climax.

But if “Paper Towns” can seem a touch familiar, it rarely feels pro forma. Neustadter and Weber’s largely faithful adaptation strikes a nice balance between the hyper-eloquence of Green’s dialogue and the natural rhythms of everyday teenspeak, and they keep up a steady stream of low-key, character-driven humor — including one priceless, regionally specific sight gag that feels even more pointed now than it would have a month earlier. And while the production might well have benefited from a richer, more varied sense of place (Charlotte, N.C., stood in for both Orlando and upstate New York), what distinguishes Schreier’s work here is his ability to sustain a bittersweet mood of anticipation and regret, as his characters struggle to take hold of the fleeting, ungraspable moment. Whether it’s focusing on Radar’s sweet, nervous courtship of Angela, or the unexpected bond that forms between Ben and Lacey, this tale of self-discovery stays true to Green’s poignant message that people are always more complicated than the neat identities we try to assign them.

Bearing out that theme most of all are the film’s young actors, all of whom get the opportunity to reveal more than one dimension of character. Wolff, who’s present in just about every scene, manages to hold the center as a young man who isn’t overly concerned about either standing out or fitting in, and whose behavior can often be as hesitant as it is impulsive. But the real find here is Delevingne, an English actress who, with her subtly smoky voice and piercing gaze, makes the girl of Quentin’s fantasies a singularly charismatic presence, all the more so due to her limited screen time. What ultimately happens to Margo may seem somewhat ambiguous by film’s end, but on the evidence of her work here, this striking actress is here to stay.

Reviewed at Fox Studios, Century City, Calif., July 2, 2015. MPAA Rating: PG-13. Running time: 109 MIN.

Production: A 20th Century Fox release of a Fox 2000 Pictures presentation of a Temple Hill production. Produced by Wyck Godfrey, Marty Bowen. Executive producers, John Green, Isaac Klausner, Nan Morales, Scott Neustadter, Michael H. Weber.
Crew: Directed by Jake Schreier. Screenplay, Scott Neustadter, Michael H. Weber, based on the book by John Green. Camera (color, widescreen), David Lanzenberg; editors, Jacob Craycroft, Jennifer Lame; music, Ryan Lott; music supervisor, Season Kent; production designer, Chris Spellman; art director, Jamie Walker McCall; set decorator, Summer Eubanks; set designers, David Blankenship, Joseph Feld; costume designer, Mary Claire Hannan; sound, Jeffree Bloomer; supervising sound editor, Mildred Iatrou Morgan; re-recording mixers, Andy Nelson, Jim Bolt; special effects coordinator, Larry Bivins; special effects, Tony Cooke; visual effects supervisor, Jake Braver; visual effects, Phosphene, Savage Visual Effects; stunt coordinators, Cal Johnson, John Cooper, Marcelle Coletti; associate producer, Jeffrey Harlacker; assistant directors, Lisa C. Satriano, Shelley Ziegler; second unit director, Darrin Prescott; second unit camera, Lukasz Jogalla; casting, Ronna Kress.
With: Nat Wolff, Cara Delevingne, Halston Sage, Austin Abrams, Justice Smith, Jaz Sinclair, Cara Buono, Griffin Freeman, Susan Macke Miller.

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Paper Towns Finds Something Special Amid All of the Melodrama

The new John Green adaptation Paper Towns is a beautiful bait-and-switch. It starts off with our shy teenage hero Quentin (Nat Wolff) narrating how he came to meet his free-spirited next-door neighbor Margo Roth Spiegelman (Cara Delevingne), and how they grew up as best friends in suburban Orlando until the perils of teenage social classism pulled them apart; she became a cool, popular beauty who partied with jocks, while he became a nerd with poor social skills and no confidence. Even so, Quentin refers to Margo as his “miracle.” She’s fearless, tough, and mysterious. At least, that’s the fantasy into which he pulls himself — and us.

Paper Towns , which was directed by Jake Schreier (who made a very good indie movie called Robot & Frank several years ago) and written by Michael Weber and Scott Neustadter (who also wrote the film adaptation of Green’s The Fault in Our Stars , as well as The Spectacular Now and 500 Days of Summer ), purports to be a romance, and then a mystery, but it turns out to be something else altogether. Not long before they’re supposed to graduate from high school, Margo materializes in Quentin’s bedroom and whisks him off on a night of creative retribution, which involves breaking into her friends’ houses and cars and giving them nasty little reminders of a horrible betrayal. (Basically, her boyfriend’s been cheating on her with one of her close friends, and she’s pissed.) Director Schreier shoots these two kids’ ultimately dorky revenge spree with an almost mythic sense of freedom — contrasting the flat, ominous blandness of these subdivisions with a vast twilit sky, alive with possibility. By the time Margo and Quentin end their night in a drab, empty corporate conference room with a great view, looking out over the city as they dance to a Muzak version of “Lady in Red,” we’re kind of in love with Margo ourselves, and with everything she represents. “The way you felt tonight is the way you should feel your whole life” are her parting words to him.

Then, just as quickly as she’d reentered Quentin’s life, Margo disappears. In a few brief weeks, myths grow around her. She’s reenacted, it seems, a typically American ritual: She’s lighted out for the territory, away from the drain of the everyday. Quentin, taken by Margo’s childhood games and her fondness for dropping clues wherever she goes, decides to track her down. Joining him are his two closest friends, Ben (Austin Abrams) and Radar (Justice Smith, a revelation), as well as Radar’s girlfriend, Angela (Jaz Sinclair), and Margo’s best friend, Lacey (Halston Sage), who had been the butt of one of Margo’s revenge pranks and now wants to redeem herself. As Quentin and the others start to follow Margo’s clues, they start to bond in deeper ways … and I’ll stop right there with the plot description. I haven’t read Green’s novel, but I suspect that the film is pretty faithful to the original.

As played by Delevingne, Margo is indeed an apparition; the actress’s oddly elfin features give her an otherworldly quality, like a fairy stranded in suburbia, approachable yet exotic. But she’s not quite a manic pixie dream girl. She confesses to having done some lousy, petty things. More important, her euphoria can suddenly give way to impenetrable melancholy, and she has a poetic understanding of others’ despair. In an early scene, she and Quentin discover the body of a man who shot himself; thinking about him later, Margo remarks, “All the strings inside him broke.” Quentin, at first, doesn’t notice Margo’s deep undercurrent of sadness, but we do. The film has already started to chip away at the fantasy, long before he starts to do so. As Margo herself puts it: “Everything’s uglier up close.”

But like I said, the film changes. At first it feels like a letdown. Delevingne is so good, so magnetic, that there’s a palpable drop in pressure after she vanishes, and Wolff, while not a bad actor, doesn’t quite have the charisma to hold our attention. (He’s like a poor man’s Miles Teller.) But the film clearly understands that because the slack is taken up by Quentin’s friends, in particular Radar and Angela, who seem to be having the rare healthy high-school romance. These kids are not Margo. They’re … kids , filled with fear and anxiety, articulate in their very inarticulateness; they stumble over their words even as they try to express deep feelings. (That these other actors seem to be genuinely younger than Delevingne and Wolff merely adds to the disconnect in an interesting way; the age difference feels thematically pointed.) They’re real and grounded and life-size in a way Margo never was — or, more accurate, in a way that Quentin never let Margo be.

There’s a common language to these types of romantic teen flicks, and Paper Towns hits all the requisite notes: The soft indie-pop comes in at just the right moments, and the light comedy plays well without stepping on the sensitive feelings being expressed. That might make it easy to mistake the film for humdrum genre work, but there’s something bold here, too: Paper Towns needs to explode its own mystique in order to make a point. It has to acknowledge that underneath all the melodrama these are just confused kids. The film could easily continue down its dreamy path but it has the cool idea of putting us under a spell and gradually, imperceptibly pulling us back to the world of the real. The result isn’t an all-the-feels, drown-us-in-tears kind of experience, but something rooted in wisdom and clarity. It’s the rare movie that can sacrifice the clean lines of fantasy and melodrama for the messiness of ordinary life — that neither burnishes nor condemns the up-down turmoil of the teenage soul, but rather lets it be.

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Review: ‘Paper Towns’ unfolds into a solid high school movie

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Like a good prom date, a good high school movie just needs to keep you entertained and out of trouble for a couple hours. A great high school movie — “The Breakfast Club,” “Rebel Without a Cause,” “Boyz n the Hood” — will linger in your mind well into adulthood.

“Paper Towns,” a mild coming-of-age mystery adapted from “Fault in Our Stars” author John Green’s bestselling novel of the same name, is only a good high school movie. It’s got an appealing cast and a promising premise, as a group of high school seniors embarks on an adventure to find a missing classmate.

Directed by Jake Schreier from a script by Scott Neustadter and Michael H. Weber, “Paper Towns” begins as a romance, picks up steam as a mystery and ultimately finds its soul as a road movie about friendship.

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But the precocious beauty whose disappearance sets the plot in motion — a myth of a girl named Margo — is the kind of character who actually improves a movie by vanishing.

Hyper-articulate teens are a specialty of Green’s, and his young adult readers love him for it. Like another bard of middle-class high school drama, filmmaker John Hughes, Green gives teens credit for having a rich interior life, and that’s a worthy endeavor. Unfortunately, in the translation to screen, articulate often becomes pretentious, and Margo’s world weariness is never given a motivation apart from a 30-second scene of her hand-wringing parents.

The far more appealing protagonist of the movie is Margo’s neighbor, Quentin — “Q” to his friends — a loyal band geek played by Nat Wolff who’s in love with her. Q is the kind of high school senior who dresses up like an iPod and answers the door for trick-or-treaters on Halloween night; Margo ( Cara Delevingne) is the kind who gets picked up in a red convertible.

Schreier manages to find a believable sense of place in Q’s hometown of upscale suburban Florida, with its tidy yards and sterile office parks, and Neustadter and Weber, who also adapted “A Fault in Our Stars” for director Josh Boone, have a feel for the mundane moments of teen life that carry an emotional punch.

Wolff’s portrayal is natural and open, with clenched hands, longing glances and an endearing awareness that he has some growing up to do. His band geek friends feel authentic, too: There’s the earnest Radar (Justice Smith), who is too mortified by his family’s massive collection of black Santas to bring home his more mature girlfriend, and the hormonally driven Ben (Austin Abrams), who’s the group’s puckish instigator.

When Q and his friends discuss girls over a game console or bond over the singing of a Pokemon song, their Musketeer-like camaraderie is convincing, or at least as much as a PG-13-rated conversation between adolescent males can be.

But when Margo arrives at Q’s window promising, “Basically this is gonna be the best night of your life,” something feels false about her swagger. I can’t blame Delevingne, a model who is transitioning to film acting, for Margo’s troubles as a character — she delivers fortune cookie lines like, “You have to get lost before you find yourself,” with conviction, and her raspy voice and power eyebrows communicate just the right amount of danger for Orlando.

When Margo leads Q on a night of mischief at the expense of some disloyal friends, it shakes Q out of his comfort zone and sends Margo into a spell of self-seriousness, as she stares glumly over the skyline bemoaning her “paper town with paper people.”

The movie’s title is a reference to a cartographer’s term for a fake place that exists only to catch copycat mapmakers, and a central theme in “Paper Towns” is learning to discern the authentic from the affected and the real from the idealized. The problem is that Margo’s affectation is her depth.

The good news is, she disappears the next morning, and Q’s efforts to find her take on a satisfying Sherlockian vibe, as clues come in the form of old maps, folk records and Walt Whitman poems.

By the time Q, Radar, Ben, Radar’s girlfriend, Angela (Jaz Sinclair), and Margo’s friend Lacey (Halston Sage) pile in a car to go find Margo and get back for prom night, the movie is really rolling. As summer and college await, they wind their way up the East Coast to the beat of a mood-boosting indie rock soundtrack, their romantic tensions and roadside high jinks carrying the bittersweetness of a last adventure.

There’s an old-fashioned chasteness to their banter — even about sex — that’s charming in part because it’s so rare in modern movies. It seems unlikely anybody’s mom will get angry about “Paper Towns.” Rarer still is a studio movie for young adults that concerns itself not with vampires or the apocalypse but with the mundane matters of the heart.

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‘Paper Towns’

Rated: PG-13, for some language, drinking, sexuality and partial nudity, all involving teens

Running time: 1 hour, 39 minutes

Playing: In general release

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Paper Towns (2015)

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Paper Towns Review

16 Aug 2015

109 minutes

Paper Towns

Given that the Fault In Our Stars racked up a healthy $307 million worldwide on a minimal budget, it was only a matter of time before the rest of John Green’s six-book back catalogue would get fast-tracked to the big screen. Paper Towns, his fourth novel, doesn’t have the big emotional wallop of Fault but Jake Schreier’s film still delivers an enjoyable, well played, if hardly earth shattering, young-adult adaptation. Or, if you are using old money, teen flick.

Paper Towns is a film of two unequal halves. The first, shorter one traces the childhood crush of narrator Q on across-the-street neighbour Margo Roth Spiegelman. By the time they’ve grown up, Q (Nat Wolff, a holdover from Fault In Our Stars) and Margo (Cara Delevingne) have drifted apart, he becoming a square with his life mapped out in front of him, she a free spirit with an enigmatic mythology around her. Delevingne is perfect casting here. Building on the freshness and energy she showed in The Face Of An Angel, her Margo is the perfect mix of character, performance and persona. She makes it very easy for you to believe that Q would go along with her 11-step plan to enact revenge on the people who have wronged her — cue nude photographs, cling-filmed cars, eyebrow removal — in what becomes the film’s most lively enjoyable stretch.

The second half is kick-started by Margo’s disappearance and the hole it leaves in Q’s life. It turns the movie into a detective flick, as Q and best buds Ben (Austin Adams, who starts as comic relief then transforms into something more believable) and Radar (Justice Smith, the voice of reason) try to put together the clues Q believes Margo has left behind. It then becomes a road-trip movie as the gang, accompanied by Margo’s best friend Lacey (Sage) and Radar’s girlfriend Angela (Jaz Sinclair), set off to find her, confident that Margo is staying in a paper town (a fictitious mark on a map left by cartographers to identify copyright traps on their work) near New York.

As a teen gang, they are fun to hang with, developing an easy, believable chemistry that goes some way to transcending the stock characters (The Sensitive One, The Sensible One, The Joker). But the beats are well worn — the nerds will make their mark at a keg party — and there is hooey about living life in the present and coming to terms with unrealistic expectations. Still, Green’s source material finds enough quirks (a family obsessed with Black Santas) to stave off convention, and director Schreier (this his second film after Robot & Frank) chivvies the action along with pace. It’s just a shame he didn’t take more of a cue from his enigmatic lead character: there are fun and truths to be had from taking a few more risks.

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Review: 'Paper Towns' is a teen charmer

Corrections & clarifications: An earlier version of this review misattributed a line from the movie to the character Ben. It was said by Radar.

Boy meets girl, boy and girl don’t talk for nine years, then boy and girl have one epic night together in the coming-of-age dramedy Paper Towns . And that’s all before a road trip, the high school prom and a collection of black Santas create a colorful background for this young adult canvas.

Based on the popular John Green novel and directed by John Schreier, the film doesn’t have any teens with cancer and the kids miraculously stay off their smartphones. Instead Paper Towns (* * * out of four; rated PG-13; opens Friday nationwide) is a satisfying look at young unrequited love, bromances, independence and letting go.

Nat Wolff, a holdover from last year’s Green adaptation The Fault in Our Stars , is college-bound Orlando kid Quentin, finishing out the last weeks of his high school career so he can move on to the next stage of his life.

Re-enter Margo (Cara Delevingne), the literal girl next door he’s been crushing on since they were kids. Even though they pass each other in the halls, the two haven’t spoken in forever, but nonetheless she mysteriously arrives at his window one evening for a midnight adventure and mission of revenge on Margo’s betraying friends. “We bring the rain down on our enemies,” she says matter-of-factly.

As quickly as she came back into his life, the mercurial Margo disappears. Because she has a tendency to leave clues as to her whereabouts, Quentin figures out that she may have hightailed it to New York. He rounds up a van full of pals — loyal buddies Ben (Austin Abrams) and Radar (Justice Smith), Radar’s girlfriend (Jaz Sinclair) and Margo’s BFF (Halston Sage) — to head north, tell Margo how much he loves her and make it back in time for prom.

All gawk and nerdy charm, Wolff effectively captures Quentin’s universality as a boy so into a girl he’s bound to do anything, even go searching for a “paper town,” a fake town placed on a map to prevent copyright infringement. Abrams and Smith are aces as his band-room sidekicks, with Radar having a home life that's a riot (his house is filled with his parents’ obsession for collectible black Santas) and getting such great lines as “If there’s a tuba there, it’s not a party.”

Green wrote the book Paper Towns as sort of a takedown of the Manic Pixie Dream Girl stock character, but Delevingne imbues her enigmatic role with a lot of soul. Not only does the audience understand why everybody falls for Margo, even though she's frustratingly flighty, but Delevingne has such an unmistakable magnetism, you miss the supermodel newcomer when she’s not around for half the movie.

Buoyed by an eclectic soundtrack, Paper Towns sounds good and plays even better on screen with a boy, a girl and heaps of teenage charm.

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DVD & Streaming

Paper Towns

Drama , Romance

Content Caution

In Theaters

July 24, 2015
Nat Wolff as Quentin; Cara Delevingne as Margo; Austin Abrams as Ben; Justice Smith as Radar; Halston Sage as Lacey; Jaz Sinclair as Angela

Home Release Date

October 20, 2015
Jake Schreier

Distributor

20th Century Fox

Movie Review

Margo Roth Spiegelman.

That’s her name. And from the moment Quentin (or Q, as Margo liked to call him) first saw her, at the age of 9 or 10, he was smitten. She moved in across the street from his house and the two of them became fast friends. Partners in crime, if you will. Margo certainly did like mysteries and clues, that’s for sure. Like the time they found a man’s lifeless body slumped up against a tree in the neighborhood. Now that was an experience.

Over the years, though, and much to Q’s disappointment, the two drifted apart. By the time they hit their mid-teens they were almost like strangers. And Margo started doing unbelievable things like running away to join a circus for the summer and becoming a groupie tagalong with a traveling rock band.

Of course, that didn’t diminish Q’s feelings for her. Actually, it heightened them. She became incredibly glamorous and exotic in his eyes. In everyone’s eyes, for that matter. And Q feared that she was so beyond him that he might never even speak with her again.

That is, until she climbed in through his bedroom window.

It was in their senior year, not long before graduation, when Margo surprised Q awake in the middle of the night. She needed help exacting revenge on her cheating boyfriend, she said. She had a list of nine different vandalizing quests in mind, and she needed Q to drive her around town in his mom’s van. Q wanted to protest, he really did, but when she promised that, “Basically, this is going to be the best night of your life,” well, what could he do?

It was quite a night. But just as soon as Q thought Margo might be back in his life again, she disappeared. Gone without a trace. Or so her parents thought. This was, after all, the fifth time Margo had run away mysteriously without explanation. “She’s just gotten bored again,” her mom grumbled.

Q, however, suspected that there might be more to this particular vanishing. For he started noticing little potential clues left here and there: a specific poster in her bedroom window that he hadn’t seen before, a piece of paper holding an address tucked away in the hinge of his bedroom door, a—

Maybe the girl who loved mysteries had purposely become a mystery herself. Become a conundrum she wanted him to untangle. On that last night together she had challenged him to move outside his comfort zone, and this could be her way of forcing him to action.

And the paint-by-the-numbers Q is finally ready to color outside the lines.

Positive Elements

Although things aren’t exactly as Q thinks, Margo’s actions do motivate him to explore the things he thinks and feels in positive ways. He and his borderline-nerdy buds Ben and Radar all reach for a deeper understanding of their friendships and devotion to one another. And Q walks away from his adventures with the knowledge that people don’t have to be beautiful or exotic to be enjoyed and valued. “The trick is to notice before it’s not too late, he opines. He also gets a better handle on what true love is all about.

Spiritual Elements

Q says he believes that, considering all the unlikely things that happen in the world, everyone gets a miracle.

Sexual Content

High school girls, including Margo and another teen named Lacey, wear revealing outfits that range from tiny jeans shorts and a cleavage-revealing tank top to barely there crop tops. And in Q’s dream, Margo wears a sexy dress with a neckline cut down to her navel. We see a guy and girl making out on someone’s bed, both without shirts. (She’s wearing a skimpy bra.)

A high schooler climbs naked out of his girlfriend’s bedroom and turns toward the camera (his genitals barely blocked at a distance by someone’s held up cellphone) before running down the street. Later, a number of comments are tossed around about the size of his private parts. Lacey complains of rumors circulating about her sexual reputation and the fact that she had chlamydia. Ben regularly spills out obnoxious comments about girls he and others have had sex with. And he says a number of raunchy things about Q’s attractive mom, including offering some incest-related recommendations to Q.

Radar makes out with his girlfriend and then loses his virginity to her (offscreen). Q tells a story of Ben having a kidney infection in their freshman year and the resulting rumor of his chronic masturbation. Margo and Q kiss.

Violent Content

An angry dad discharges his shotgun out the front door of his house to scare vandals away. As mentioned, two young children find the corpse of a man who committed suicide. (He clutches a gun, and there’s blood on his head and shirt.) Q barely avoids hitting a cow in the road, spinning the van and blowing out several tires in the process. A big high school jock slams Q up against his locker.

Crude or Profane Language

A couple unfinished exclamations of “What the f—” and six or so s-words join a handful of uses each of “a–,” “h—” and “d–n.” God’s and Jesus’ names are misused a half-dozen times total, with God’s name getting twisted up with “d–n” once.

Drug and Alcohol Content

A house party features a crowd of teens drinking beer and hard liquor. Ben gets roaring drunk from swigging everything in sight.

Other Negative Elements

Parental guidance (or even simple involvement) is pretty much nonexistent in this teen-focused flick.

A number of toilet-tainted jokes float around. We see repeated urine splashing and drunken vomiting. Q’s late night romp with Margo involves a variety of malicious actions, including breaking and entering, spray painting a wall, and spreading Nair hair removal on someone’s eyebrows. Q convinces his friends to skip school with him, and he also takes his mom’s van on a 1,200-mile trip without permission.

The phrase paper town refers to the cartographic practice of creating nonexistent towns on a map in order to foil potential plagiarizers. But in a Millennial coming-of-age pic like this—which is based on a book by John Green, the of-the-moment writer responsible for The Fault in Our Stars —we’re told that it can also double as an image of empty suburban phoniness. It’s a “paper town with paper people,” Margo says. It represents that stifling trap of living a fruitless life. And, she insists, it’s something angsty (and generally privileged) teens must desperately avoid, leaving it in their rearview mirrors with a newfound “wisdom” their parents never had.

Paper Towns ‘ quirky characters aren’t necessarily all that realistic. A worldly-beyond-her-years mystery teen who runs away to exotic adventures every couple of months whenever she’s bored? Right. (Often these kids sound more like thirtysomething screenwriters than high schoolers.) They are generally likeable, which I guess isn’t as much of a compliment as it should be.

That’s because where Paper Towns really cuts you is with its core message. Narrator Q does point out the importance of not idolizing the pretty and exotic people around you, suggesting it’s better to learn to enjoy the miraculous thing that is your life. That’s solid advice. But this flick generally glorifies all the possible train-wreck stuff of high school floundering—from drunken house parties to sneaky sexcapades to secret road trips—as the basic building blocks of moving from adolescence to adulthood.

And the film takes that attitude even a step further.

When Margo and Q have their night of vandalizing and vengeance, Q remarks that he’s so scared and excited by their actions that he can feel his heart thumping in his chest. Margo tells him, “That’s how you know you’re having fun.” And she enthusiastically claims that that adrenaline rush of rule-breaking and risk should be how your life always feels.

Now, anyone outside of high school or Hollywood will know the foolishness of such carnal counsel. But taken to heart, it’s the kind of exalted, pulpy nonsense that could land some teen moviegoers in one of life’s shredders.

After spending more than two decades touring, directing, writing and producing for Christian theater and radio (most recently for Adventures in Odyssey, which he still contributes to), Bob joined the Plugged In staff to help us focus more heavily on video games. He is also one of our primary movie reviewers.

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Paper Towns (United States, 2015)

Paper Towns is the third coming-of-age story to reach screens during the summer of 2015, following in the wake of the vastly superior Me and Earl and the Dying Girl and Dope . Based on the novel by John Green, Paper Towns is an exercise in artifice. The contrived storyline offers little opportunity for characters to grow and the meandering narrative trajectory and anticlimactic ending will have some viewers wondering why they bothered.

Coming-of-age stories work best when they are populated with relatable characters. In Paper Towns , the narrator and protagonist, Quentin (Nat Wolff), is grounded but uninteresting. He is defined by a single personality trait: his conformity. He's a studious guy who gets good grades, never cuts class, and doesn't sneak out of his house at night. He is seduced out of his cocoon by the girl across the street. She's Margo (Cara Delevingne), one of the most popular girls in school and Quentin's private obsession. Like Quentin, Margo isn't a real person - she's a wafer-thin movie confection defined exclusively by her free-spiritedness. Since Paper Towns is presented from Quentin's perspective, it's understandable that Margo would be so poorly drawn (we're seeing her as he sees her, not as she is). It's less explicable why the same is true of Quentin.

The movie opens with an interminable 30 minute setup. For about half that time, we are treated to glimpses of Quentin and Margo's childhood as they grow up as best friends. (Their differences are italicized in a scene where they are shown bicycling side-by-side with him wearing a helmet and her without one.) Through this, Nat Wolff provides a voiceover talking about how invigorating it was to be around Margo but how, in the end, they drifted apart. Then, one night a few weeks before the Senior Prom, she hijacks him to be her accomplice on an "adventure" that includes a series of revenge-fueled pranks. After that, she disappears but leaves behind a series of clues for amateur sleuth Quentin to piece together. In order to find the love of his life, he must leave his comfort zone, even going so far as to skip school and embark on a 1200-mile road trip.

Wolff, who was fine in The Fault in Our Stars (last year's Green adaptation), shows little in the way of emotion or range here. It's hard to say whether the blame lies with the actor (and, by extension, director Jake Schreier) or with the character. Quentin is dull and his development as a person seems more cosmetic than organic. Has he really changed? British model Cara Delevingne imbues Margo with an intriguing quirkiness but she's not on screen long enough to make more than a fleeting impression and she and Wolff share no chemistry. The actors who portray Quentin's friends and traveling companions are as forgettable as the characters they play.

Paper Towns is perhaps best viewed as a flight of fancy. That's the only way to overcome the "suspension of disbelief"curve. Little of what happens in the movie - either during the initial night adventure, the subsequent investigation, or the road trip - could happen in the real world, so we must assume this is a parallel universe where adults are as relevant and intelligible as those in a Charlie Brown cartoon. This is, after all, a movie about teenagers. Why clutter it up with old people ?

The success of The Fault in Our Stars has led distributor Fox to be bullish about the prospects for Paper Towns , but the films aren't comparable. The Fault in Our Stars is heartfelt and guileless - a touching depiction of what happens when youth clashes with mortality. Paper Towns is shallow and chokes on its own glibness. It's hard to believe both movies germinated from the pen of the same author.

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Paper Towns Review

LOST & FOUND

Last year, The Fault in Our Stars, a teen drama feature, managed to break free from the commonplace blockbusters of the 2014 summer and produce a modest hit. Adapted from the novel by famous teen genre author John Green, had an emotional story with a lot of heart and (aided by its fan base of teenage youth, drove up a pretty sizeable ticket sales. Hoping to catch on with the same cinematic draw and profitability, 20 th Century Fox and director Jake Schreier unveil another movie adaptation of one of John Green’s novels with the film Paper Towns . Does this movie find its target audience or get lost its own teen mellow drama?

In the suburbs of Orlando, Quentin Jacobsen (Nat Wolff), a high school senior who has played it straight, is going through the clockwork motions of his life as he secures his future as a doctor. He hangs out with other fellow misfit outcasts Radar (Justice Smith) and Ben (Austin Abrams), but Quentin’s mind is always on female classmate Margo Roth Spieglman (Cara Delevingne), his childhood neighbor from the across the street who follows her impulses and lives life on the edge. On one night, after several years of estrangement, Quentin receives an unexpected visit from Margo, slipping into his room and enlisting his help for a series of revenge plans after she found out that her boyfriend was cheating on her. The two youths playfully reconnect during their prank filled evening together, but the next morning, after their night of revenge plots, Margo leaves home and disappears. Determined to find her, Quentin follows an elaborate set of clues that Margo has left behind, which he interprets as an invitation for a romantic reunion with his longtime crush.

THE GOOD / THE BAD

Working at a bookstore, I see the popularity of John Green’s novels with teenagers anxiously waiting to read his work. In addition, Green’s famous book The Fault in Our Stars was and still is a huge success at my store, selling copy after copy to customer. After The Fault in Our Stars got released as a film, I decided to watch it and thought it was pretty good (for a gooey heartfelt teen drama), but I never read the book. A couple of months ago, after seeing the trailer for Paper Towns , I decided to pick up a copy of the book and read it before the saw the movie. After seeing the movie, my resulting reaction is that Paper Towns is it light feature film that, while not as poignant as its peers, is still crafted well with enough care and helping blend of comedy and drama of teens angst.

Director Jake Schreier, who has directed the small and obscure indie film Robot & Frank, approaches Paper Towns with the same notion of whimsy and indie film-like portrayal. Interestingly, Schreier and his film team seem to capture the isolation of teenagers in Paper Towns with it’s on-screen characters having little to no interaction with adult parents / adult counterparts, offering plenty one-on-one screen time with its young adult characters and their activities. Again, its an interesting notion that kind of works for the film. While being a low budget film (roughly 12 million for its production budget) Paper Towns, from a technical standpoint, is actually crafted very well. Camera angles, production designs, and cinematography are presented with healthy dose of intention, making the film, visually speaking, a nice and pretty feature film. The movie also has a good selection of musical songs. The film’s soundtrack includes songs from Sam Bruno, Vance Joy, Haim, Vampire Weekend, and many more. It’s probably not what you would typically hear on a Top 40 radio station, but fits the movie’s youthful vibe in a pleasant and harmonic way.

It also comes as no surprise that Schreier is aided by Michael H. Weber and Scott Neustadter for the movie’s screenplay (the same pair that penned the film adaptation of The Fault in Our Stars ) as well as the other indie comedy film (500) Days of Summer . For better or worse, Paper Towns is mostly a “coming of age story”, expressed through its storytelling of Quentin’s journey to find Margo. While this yarn of a tale is nothing new, Weber and Neustadter address its theme and messages by steadily blend scenes of off-beat comedy (a rendition of the Pokémon theme song sung by Quentin and his two friends is the best example) and personal drama of growing up and living life. In contrast, the movie is not as innovative as it wants to be, lacking those elements of which made similar movies in this genre famous. It’s not as funny as Easy A , or dramatic as The Fault in Our Stars , or not as insightful as The Breakfast Club . Alas, Paper Towns falls is somewhere in the middle of the teen film genre. Good, but not great.

Like most “page to screen” adaptations, something gets lost along the way and Paper Towns has its fair share. Several subplots are omitted, certain minor characters are barely present, and a handful of particular scenes are rearranged, including the film’s ending. I personally liked the ending of the movie more so than the book, but that could be just be me. There are still plenty of high school references for both youths of today and older generations (discussions of boyfriend / girlfriend dating status, high school drama, parties, prom, etc). Its overall narrative is left intact (the whole mystery aspect of finding Margo’s clues), but the movie chips away at its source’s sub and minor material.

As I mentioned above, while Paper Towns doesn’t carry a hefty production budget, majority of its cast is relatively new or unknown actors, who actually do a pretty good job in the movie. Having done a supporting role in The Fault in Our Stars as the character of Isaac, Nat Wolff has graduated to lead protagonist for Paper Towns . While he isn’t the most attractive looking, Wolff is very relatable and you (the viewer) surely do emphasis with his character Quentin. Opposite Wolff is British model / actress Cara Delevingne as the elusive Margo Roth Spieglman. Even though she only bookends the front and back of the movie, Delevingne succeeds at creating a mysterious air around her character of Margo while also subtly expressing something troubling underneath her whole “cool girl” persona. She’s also very pretty to look at and I can’t wait to see her as the Enchantress in 2016’s supervillian team up Suicide Squad .

Along with the two leads, the film’s supporting cast has a strong presence from such relatively unknown group of actors, deriving from either good writing or by their performance. Austin Abrams and Justice Smith play Quentin’s best friends, Ben and Radar, who get their characters from the book correctly, while also adding their own personal quirks and deficiencies throughout the film. Halston Sage plays Lacey, Margo’s longtime best friend, and turns a refreshing performance from the stereotypical archetype of “best friend”. In more minor capacity is actress Jaz Sinclair who plays Angela, Radar’s girlfriend. Sinclair’s role is not as important to the story, but her inclusion is a welcomed one as she does a good job in making the most of her time on screen. Lastly, for those interested, keep your eyes peeled on a cameo appearance for a familiar face from The Fault in Our Stars film.

FINAL THOUGHTS

Paper Towns is gentle movie that won’t offend anyone as it makes its intentions known and respects its themes and messages. Its narrative (though tweaked for its theatrical debut) is still left mostly intact and the movie’s writing, directing, and acting are presented in a favorable light. While it may not be the most ground-breaking or compelling coming of age story, Paper Towns is still enjoyable as a feature film. I wouldn’t say it’s the quintessential film for its genre, but I personally liked it and I say that’s worth a glance, proven to be better than some generic run-of-the-mill teen movies. If you a fan of Green’s written work, or looking for date night film to watch, or just in a mood for light movie, Paper Towns is the perfect choice to get lost in and to be found.

3.8 Out of 5 (Recommended)

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Paper Towns

By Peter Travers

Peter Travers

If you blubbered through John Green’s The Fault in Our Stars and the emo-blockbuster squeezed from its bestselling YA pages, you probably won’t cry all that much at the movie constructed from Green’s Paper Towns. Wait, that’s a good thing. None of the main characters die of cancer in Paper Towns and the script by Fault’s Scott Neustadter and Michael H. Weber, of the ever-wonderful (500) Days of Summer , pulls back on the weepy bits in favor of what’s funny, touching and vital. There may be nothing fresh left to find in teens coming of age, but director Jake Schreier ( Robot and Frank ) fakes it with genuine sincerity.

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And he has a winning cast to sell it. Nat Wolff, good enough in Fault, Palo Alto and the upcoming Grandma to make you say — who is this kid, he’s got something — stars as Quentin Jacobson, Q for short. Q is the risk-averse Orlando nerd who’s been crushing on the wild child next door, Margo Roth Spiegelman (Cara Delevingne), since he was nine and they found a dead body together (no cancer, the dude shot himself). Now Margo is the most popular girl in school and one night she climbs through Q’s window, dressed as a ninja, and leads him on a revenge spree against those who wronged her. No murders, mostly it’s just shaving off a jock’s eyebrow, wrapping a car in plastic and shooting video of her cheating boyfriend’s ant-sized dick. But Q’s heart is beating hard. When Margo doesn’t show up at school — even with prom and graduation coming — Q follows her clues, involving Walt Whitman and Woody Guthrie, to a small New York town that’s not even on the map (cartographers create such fictional towns to protect against copyright infringement, hence paper towns).

On the drive, Q brings along his friends, Radar (Justice Smith) and his girlfriend Angela (Jaz Sinclair) and horndog Ben (Austin Abrams) and Margo’s bff Lacey (Halston Sage), a honeybunny who inspires Ben’s carnal fantasies. This road trip is booby-trapped with teen clichés. And readers of the book won’t like some crucial changes (what, no Sea World?). But the central romance holds you. Supermodel Delevigne wears down any resentment of yet another Brit playing an American teen. Her flashing eyes and throaty voice indicate the star power to make it in pictures that move. And Wolff is terrific, giving us a romantic image of confused youth to root for. Ok, Paper Towns plays it safe, but its leads are irresistible so we’re never sorry.

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Home » Review » Movie » Paper Towns

Paper Towns

The most uninspired YA movie in years.

Unremarkable teens panic over non-problems in Paper Towns , a flatlined adaptation of a John Green YA novel that makes The Fault In Our Stars look like an Abbas Kiarostami masterpiece. Good teen movies are about recognition, assuring awkward adolescents that the freak-outs and crushing disappointments that define their pained existences are actually totally normal and quite surmountable. But the key to making this game plan work is the same key to making all character-driven stories work: good characters. Paper Towns has none of those.

It’s nice that portraying normal-looking teens on-screen has become so fashionable as of late (the days of 35-year-old models playing high-schoolers are all but a distant memory), but for goodness’ sake, just because they look ordinary doesn’t mean they have to be the dullest kids on the block. Our proxy and narrator is Q ( Nat Wolff ), a well-behaved, unassuming high school senior living in suburban Orlando. He’s the kind of kid who TPs a house for the first time and considers it the wildest night of his life.

Since Q was a kid, he’s been under the spell of Margo Roth Spiegelman ( Cara Delevingne ), the girl from across the street (his crush is his sole defining personality trait). They were friends in elementary school, but have grown apart as Q’s mild-mannered, obedient nature has caused the adventurous, rebellious Margo to leave him in the proverbial dust; she leads a nocturnal, untamed life while Q gets straight-As and hangs out with his buddies in the school band room. Seemingly out of the blue, Margo finally takes notice of him for the first time since they were kids and invites him out for a late-night revenge mission against her ex-boyfriend and ex-best friend. Thinking it may be his last chance to spend time with the girl of his dreams before he goes off to college, he lets go of his inhibitions, holds his breath and takes the dive.

It’s the best night of Q’s life, but he’s jerked back to reality when Margo mysteriously vanishes, leaving a trail of crafty clues in her wake. From highlighted passages in poetry books to tiny notes hidden in the easiest-to-miss places, Q obsesses over Margo’s breadcrumbs, determined to rescue her from wherever she’s run off to (her parents aren’t as concerned; she’s been known to run off for weeks at a time). Once he deciphers the clues and figures out where she’s gone, he gathers four of his equally uninteresting friends and saddles up for a road trip to find his lost love.

The plot is so unoriginal and uninspiring that I was actually aggravated watching it. The worst thing about Paper Towns isn’t that it’s poorly made or majorly flawed; it’s that it’s so humble and plain and unexciting that it saps the life out of you. It even sucks the life out of its talents. Director Jake Schreier made a charming, inventive movie in 2012 called Robot & Frank that had me excited about his forthcoming work. Alas, Paper Towns seems to only have Green’s fingerprints on it, and none of his. Wolff was a standout in Gia Coppola’s Palo Alto as a bratty, sexually abusive teen with a mean streak (he was good in The Fault In Our Stars , too), but in this movie he’s virtually impossible to pick out of a lineup of other teenage male leads.

Some scenes in Paper Towns are so uncomfortably contrived and cheesy that I scanned the theater for a moment, positive someone would get up and leave out of impatience and disgust (I had the urge myself). When Margo’s clues lead Q and company to a spooky, abandoned convenience store in the middle of the night, they start singing a song to ease their fears. They start singing the Pokémon theme song. This scene isn’t painful because of how nerdy it is (I actually quite enjoy the Pokémon video games, thank you very much), but because it’s disingenuously presented as some kind of classic coming-of-age movie moment. Simply put, it’s not funny and it’s a waste of time.

When you boil Paper Towns down, it’s about a boy who learns to let go of lofty idealizations and appreciate what he’s got right under his nose. It’s actually not a bad life lesson to base a movie on, but the movie Schreier’s built around it is so unambitious that it’s hard to absorb the message, considering the mind-numbingly boring the road to get there is. Like its hero, Paper Towns needs to grow some balls.

Paper Towns Movie review

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Paper Towns Parent Guide

Well not particularly inspiring from an artistic perspective, the solid performances by a young cast will likely make this an appealing watch for its target demographic..

Quentin (Nat Wolff) has always admired his neighbor Margo (Cara Delevingne), but she barely acknowledges his existence. And just when he has reason to hope that might be changing for the better -- she mysteriously disappears. However, Margo has left a trail of clues behind, so Quentin enlists his closest friends to help him find the girl of his dreams.

Release date July 24, 2015

Run Time: 109 minutes

Official Movie Site

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The guide to our grades, parent movie review by rod gustafson.

Coming-of-age is a well-trod path in film scripts. Makers of such movies have the distinct advantage of recycling their tale with a perpetually new crop of viewers. Yet these pimples-to-beard stories are an often-sad reflection of the era in which they released. In the case of Paper Towns , its focus is the loneliness of members of the millennial generation who are desperate to find meaning in a life of privilege and excess.

We are immediately introduced to Quentin (Josiah Cerio/Nat Wolff), who grows up from a young boy to a high school senior in middle class Orlando, Florida. During these years his success with school has been dampened by a persistent childhood crush on the girl next door.

By high school the pair hardly even acknowledge each other in the halls. Then, suddenly, Margo shows up at her neighbor’s bedroom window, just as she used to when they were kids. Convinced she can convince her long time admirer to join her, she berates Quentin for his cautious personality and advises that happiness should be had now, as opposed to waiting until after he’s completed his career goals, which include medical school. The argument works and Quentin concedes to stealing his mother’s van and taking part in an evening of committing vengeful and illegal acts against those who have wronged Margo over the course of her short life.

When the morning sun rises, a cheating boyfriend has been caught running naked from Margo’s best friend’s house (we clearly see him from the side and rear), another nemesis has an eyebrow taken off while asleep (hair removal cream works so well in the movies) and Lacey (Halston Sage)—a second girlfriend deemed inconsiderate—has her car wrapped in plastic wrap. Margo is satisfied and Quentin, who is convinced they have finally bonded during their hijinks, is more love-struck than ever.

Then Margo disappears.

Not wanting to reveal his involvement in the missing girl’s shady activities, Quentin tells the police and Margo’s parents that he only saw her for a moment that final night. However, his unfailing admiration for her motivates him to try and find her himself. Convincing his best friends Ben and Radar (Austin Abrams, Justice Smith), along with Lacey and Radar’s girlfriend Angels (Jaz Sinclair) to join him in the search, the group follow a trail of cryptic clues left behind by the melodramatic runaway.

Slowly meandering through its scant plotline, Paper Towns implies that audiences are supposed to be learning something deeper while watching these adolescents reluctantly make their way to young adulthood. There are some moments of enlightenment, like when Radar finally begins to communicate with Angela about who he really is. The sex-obsessed Ben also discovers there is more to girls than their outward appearance. And, of course, the protagonist is destined to have an epiphany. Sadly, their paradigm shifts don’t offer anything substantial enough to really satisfy – or provide much hope for the future.

And then there is the experienced father in me that can’t help but wonder the obvious: Where are the parents of these kids? Won’t Quentin’s mother be surprised that her van is missing? And, who’s buying the food and gas for their road trip?

There are some common messages that form the foundation blocks of the coming-of-age genre. First, they magnify the difficulties of transitioning into adulthood, and emphasize the desire to rebel from expected conventions. They present the false notion that a person can have independence without having to accept responsibility or consequences.

Quentin and his gang take detours into drinking (one character is so inebriated that he vomits, and later urinates), teen sex (a passionately kissing/fondling couple is shown, as are implied relationships) and frequent sexual discussion. As well they throw around their fair share of profanities, scatological slang and terms of deity.

Well not particularly inspiring from an artistic perspective, the solid performances by a young cast will likely make this an appealing watch for its target demographic. Considering the mixed messages embedded in the story, parents would do well to share the experience with their kids and/or be prepared to discuss their perspectives on the journey of life.

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Rod Gustafson

Paper towns rating & content info.

Why is Paper Towns rated PG-13? Paper Towns is rated PG-13 by the MPAA for some language, drinking, sexuality and partial nudity - all involving teens.

Violence: Young children find the body of a suicide victim who has a bloody wound. A rebellious teen that sneaks out of the house and repeatedly runs away is admired for her adventurous spirit. Out of a desire for vengeance, teen characters commit acts of vandalism, including mean-spirited practical jokes, breaking and entering, stealing a family car, and spray-painting property. Adults argue with their children. A man fires a gun to scare away intruders. Bullying is mentioned and a boy is rough-handled by a schoolmate. Characters use bribes to get what they want. Students skip class and trespass on private property. A van full of teens narrowly misses hitting an animal.

Sexual Content: Teen couples hug, kiss (sometimes passionately with fondling) and announce that they are engaged in sexual relations. A boy cheats on his girlfriend. A naked teen is seen from behind when he flees his girlfriend’s bedroom so her father won’t catch him. Other male characters are seen wearing only their underwear, and female characters are shown scantily dressed. A teen boy talks about sex, past sexual activities and fantasizes about having sex with his best friend’s mother. Male characters are shown urinating in a couple of scenes. Vomiting is depicted. Masturbation and a sexually transmitted disease are mentioned. Couples cuddle while dancing. A male character attempts to kiss another male to annoy him.

Language: Mild and moderate profanity, scatological slang and terms of deity are used. Crude and sexual slang terms are heard frequently, along with a few anatomical words and slurs.

Alcohol / Drug Use: Teen characters drink at a party, some to excess, and one is portrayed as extremely drunk. Friends talk about smoking a cigar when they were children.

Page last updated July 17, 2017

Paper Towns Parents' Guide

There are several generations of teen coming of age stories. Some include The Breakfast Club , An Education and Boyhood . What similar elements do these script contain? What things are different? Do they reflect the contemporary issues of the time in which they are made? What universal emotions do they explore? Do they offer any hope or meaningful advise to their viewers?

Margo tells Quinton that his life goals, which include medical school and marriage, mean that he is postponing happiness for at least 12 years. Do you agree with her perspective? Is it possible to find happiness even when you are doing boring, conventional things like studying or starting a family? Margo also says, “When your heart is beating in your chest—that’s how you know you are having fun”. What do you think of her definition of a good time? What might be the consequences for someone who pursues thrills and semi-illegal activities as a source of amusement? Are their any constructive ways to expand one’s comfort zone or find adventure?

This movie takes its name from a practice of mapmakers, who created fake names of towns (so the places existed only on paper) that they drew on their maps, as a way to catch anyone who might be infringing on their copyrights. Learn more about the history of paper towns here.

More About the Movie: Paper Towns is based on a novel by John Green who also authored The Fault In Our Stars .

From the Studio Adapted from the bestselling novel by author John Green (“The Fault in Our Stars”), PAPER TOWNS is a coming-of-age story centering on Quentin and his enigmatic neighbor Margo, who loved mysteries so much she became one. After taking him on an all-night adventure through their hometown, Margo suddenly disappears—leaving behind cryptic clues for Quentin to decipher. The search leads Quentin and his quick-witted friends on an exhilarating adventure that is equal parts hilarious and moving. Ultimately, to track down Margo, Quentin must find a deeper understanding of true friendship—and true love. © Fox

The most recent home video release of Paper Towns movie is October 20, 2015. Here are some details…

Home Video Notes: Paper Towns Release Date: 20 October 2015 Paper Towns releases to home video (Blu-ray/DVD/Digital Copy) with the following extras: - John and Nat: Lightning Round - John and Cara: Lightning Round - Gag Reel - Promotional Featurettes: Van Chats - Audio Commentary by Jake Schreier and John Green - Gallery - Theatrical Trailer Exclusive HD Content - Deleted Scenes with Optional Commentary by Jake Schreier and John Green - Alternate Scene: “Shake It Off” - Paper Towns: The Making Of Also available is the Paper Towns: My PAPER Journey Edition .It includes: - Collectible packaging including shareable sticky notes of inspirational quotes from the film and a U.S. map.

Paper Towns (2015) Movie Review: To Fake Towns and Beyond!

Jake Schreier, who directed the fabulous little indie called “Robot & Frank,” has dived into the famous John Green book and has successfully proselytized the prophecy that the world is beyond attraction and love, even though we always stumble across them and probably get into them till we get there. “ Paper Towns” is a coming-of-age film that doesn’t always get it right, but when it does, it transmits the message across quite evidently.

I haven’t read the book, so I’ll just throw out what’s out there. The film is not quite like the book. From what I’ve heard, a lot of it has been trimmed, and the ending has been changed. So if you’re going into the film expecting it to be faithful to the book , it probably won’t. Coming from ardent readers, “Paper Towns” is a better John Green Book than “The Fault In Our Stars.” And even though “Paper Towns” the movie is not as sappy as “The Fault In Our Stars,” the film lacks the magic that it should have had.

Related to Paper Towns – Kubo and the Two Strings [2016]: Of Memories and Magic

There are these first 20-odd minutes in the film that are really off-putting. The tone is not right, the characters are not right and you start giving up on the film. But thankfully, the tone changes, it starts opening up, and the characters start feeling real and interesting. So, if you’re planning to stick by the film and give it its share of nudges, there’s a nice film beneath it.

“Paper Towns” is basically a road trip surrounded by the themes of bromance, adventures , and letting go. Unlike “ The Fault In Our Stars ,” which had Hazel Grace narrating her poignant tale, “Paper Towns” starts with Quentin A.K.A Q (Nat Wolff) voicing his new discovery of being the neighbor to a girl he would want to be with all his life. As we jump a few years ahead, the film shows how Q and Margo (Cara Delevingne) have drifted apart because of Margo’s overly adventurous nature. Margo is someone who, at a very early age, has understood that life is about figuring things out. Q, on the other hand, is one of those people who has been told to follow the crowd. Until one night when he finally grows some balls and takes things from Margo’s perspective.

But life doesn’t always give you lemons when you want to make lemonade. Margo mysteriously disappears, and the rest of the film is based around playing detective & taking a road trip along the growing-up lane. “Paper Towns” is obviously a coming-of-age film and even though it doesn’t have a wonderful direction as “The Fault in Our Stars,” it manages to send the message across.

Also, Read – Tallulah (2016): Women with Substance

The characters in “Paper Towns” take time to evolve. For example, Quentin, played by Nat Wolff, seems weird and unlikable as the film begins, but once Margo (Cara Delevingne) goes off-screen and he seamlessly tries to follow this idea of her, that’s when the film starts making sense. Nat Wolff doesn’t seem to have great chemistry with Cara. It might be because of Cara Delevingne, who would remind you of the very lovable Emma Stone in a very bad way. Having said that, Nat Wolff has great chemistry with all his friends who are good young actors.

The best part of “Paper Towns” is obviously the Road Trip . There are shades of other teenage films here and there. I somehow felt that the movie resembled Stephen Chbosky’s “The Perks Of Being A Wallflower” in more ways than one. But that doesn’t mean it’s a bad film. “Paper Towns” does not have great dialogues like “The Fault In Our Stars” and doesn’t over-hammer you with philosophy either. The film is miles away from the sentimentality that brought down “The Fault In Our Stars” for some people. But it’s also not as edgy as it should have been.

Paper Towns Trailer

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Tv/streaming, collections, chaz's journal, great movies, contributors, fly me to the moon.

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“Fly Me to the Moon” lurches wildly from zippy, retro rom-com to cynical political satire to weighty, remorseful drama and back again. Tonally messy and overlong, director Greg Berlanti ’s film ultimately squanders the considerable charms of its A-list stars, Scarlett Johansson and Channing Tatum , who are individually appealing but have zero chemistry with each other.

Johansson is especially charismatic here as Kelly Jones , a late-’60s ad executive who gets plucked from a Manhattan agency to sell the space program to the American people. She’s Don Draper in a pink pencil skirt – and all hail costume designer Mary Zophres, the longtime Coen brothers' collaborator, who has amassed a truly dazzling array of mid-century chic ensembles for these actors to wear. The shadowy government figure who approaches Kelly in a bar about the gig ( Woody Harrelson , playfully menacing in a fedora) comments on how useful her beauty is in her line of work. But her ability to read people and figure out what makes them tick makes her even more formidable.

Watching Kelly transform herself from one moment to the next into whoever she needs to be to get her way provides the primary source of joy in Berlanti’s film, based on a screenplay by Rose Gilroy . Is she a compulsive liar? Perhaps. But she’s also extremely good at her job.

Which is why her supposed romantic connection with Tatum’s launch director Cole Davis makes no sense, beyond the fact that these are both inordinately gorgeous people. Kelly and Cole meet cute one night in the neon glow of a Cocoa Beach, Florida, diner; the next day, they have an awkward moment straight out of “ Top Gun ” when they realize they’ll be forced to work together. But Cole wants no part of Kelly’s shenanigans; a brilliant pilot who should have been an astronaut himself, he’s all business, and he remains consumed by the tragedy of Apollo 1 even as the Apollo 11 moon mission looms large on the horizon. He's kind of a drag.

Snappy banter is crucial to this kind of screwball romantic comedy. “Fly Me to the Moon” aims for the kind of sparks we’ve enjoyed in all those Rock Hudson and Doris Day classics. Here, it often feels like Johansson and Tatum are in entirely different movies. She’s effervescent and fearless; he’s stoic and apprehensive. Interestingly, Chris Evans originally was meant to play Cole, and would have been a much better fit, only partly because he and Johansson are longtime friends in real life. There’s a lightness required here that Tatum can’t seem to summon, although that's also because it's missing on the page. And later in the film, when Kelly and Cole sit down to reveal their demons to each other, the movie grinds to a halt for these tedious exposition dumps.

Cole would be particularly irate to learn that part of Kelly’s assignment includes hiring a director and actors to fake the moon landing on a soundstage in case the real one fails. This, of course, has been a conspiracy theory for decades, including the notion that Stanley Kubrick himself was at the helm – the inspiration for a couple of flat, throwaway jokes here. Jim Rash chews up the scenery as a wildly flamboyant but frustrated filmmaker who finally gets the chance to show off his artistry, even if no one can know about it. He definitely knows what movie he’s in – or at least, what movie this could have been.

From here, “Fly Me to the Moon” gets bogged down in multiple endings, with a back-and-forth as to what’s real and what’s fake that eventually becomes jumbled. It keeps going and going past what might have been a natural conclusion, spelling out motivations and developments that would have been more intriguing if they’d been left to our imagination. Berlanti’s movie is far more effective as an upbeat farce than a poignant drama, and at well over two hours, the last 30 minutes or so feel like an eternity.

Capable supporting players like Ray Romano and Anna Garcia can only do so much through all these highs and lows with the thin characters they’re given. And Colin Jost of “Saturday Night Live” – who happens to be Johansson’s husband – is truly terrible in the briefest of cameos as a senator she’s trying to woo for his support. It’s such a hammy performance, though, that it almost seems intentional.

Still, this scene is indicative of the confusion that serves as the film’s wobbly throughline. Is this a comedy or a drama? Is it nostalgia or historical critique? Things keep catching on fire amid the chaos of “Fly Me to the Moon,” and maybe that’s the most apt metaphor of all.

Christy Lemire

Christy Lemire is a longtime film critic who has written for RogerEbert.com since 2013. Before that, she was the film critic for The Associated Press for nearly 15 years and co-hosted the public television series "Ebert Presents At the Movies" opposite Ignatiy Vishnevetsky, with Roger Ebert serving as managing editor. Read her answers to our Movie Love Questionnaire here .

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What Is Project 2025, and Why Is Trump Disavowing It?

The Biden campaign has attacked Donald J. Trump’s ties to the conservative policy plan that would amass power in the executive branch, though it is not his official platform.

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Kevin Roberts, wearing a dark suit and blue tie and speaking into a microphone at a lectern. The lectern says, “National Religious Broadcasters, nrb.org.”

By Simon J. Levien

Donald J. Trump has gone to great lengths to distance himself from Project 2025, a set of conservative policy proposals for a future Republican administration that has outraged Democrats. He has claimed he knows nothing about it or the people involved in creating it.

Mr. Trump himself was not behind the project. But some of his allies were.

The document, its origins and the interplay between it and the Trump campaign have made for one of the most hotly debated questions of the 2024 race.

Here is what to know about Project 2025, and who is behind it.

What is Project 2025?

Project 2025 was spearheaded by the Heritage Foundation and like-minded conservative groups before Mr. Trump officially entered the 2024 race. The Heritage Foundation is a think tank that has shaped the personnel and policies of Republican administrations since the Reagan presidency.

The project was intended as a buffet of options for the Trump administration or any other Republican presidency. It’s the latest installment in the Heritage Foundation’s Mandate for Leadership series, which has compiled conservative policy proposals every few years since 1981. But no previous study has been as sweeping in its recommendations — or as widely discussed.

Kevin Roberts, the head of the Heritage Foundation, which began putting together the latest document in 2022, said he thought the American government would embrace a more conservative era, one that he hoped Republicans would usher in.

“We are in the process of the second American Revolution,” Mr. Roberts said on Real America’s Voice, a right-wing cable channel, in early July, adding pointedly that the revolt “will remain bloodless if the left allows it to be.”

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Paper Towns: Movie Review
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Paper Towns movie review & film summary (2015)
The current Green adaptation, "Paper Towns," might not possess the same exhilarating highs and somber lows as "The Fault in Our Stars," b ut this teen drama wrapped around a human enigma does share more than a few commonalities, including the same savvy writing team of Scott Neustadter and Michael H. Weber, who also did the screenplay for what is probably the pinnacle so far of this ...
Paper Towns
Rated: 3/5 Feb 3, 2021 Full Review Shikhar Verma High on Films Paper Towns is a coming-of-age film that doesn't always get it right. But, when it does, it transcends the message across quite ...
Paper Towns Movie Review
Paper Towns Movie Review. 1:11 Paper Towns Official trailer. Paper Towns. Community Reviews. See all. Parents say (16) Kids say (45) age 13+ Based on 16 parent reviews . bethany.y Parent of 7, 12 and 16-year-old. July 22, 2019 age 14+ Paper Towns is a wonderful adventurous movie any teen will enjoy!
Paper Towns
Paper Towns is a coming-of-age film that doesn't always get it right. But, when it does, it transcends the message across quite evidently. Full Review | Original Score: 3/5 | Jan 24, 2021
'Paper Towns': Film Review
Movies; Movie Reviews 'Paper Towns': Film Review. Starring Nat Wolff and Cara Delevingne, Jake Schreier's film is the first from the John Green stable since the smash "The Fault in Our Stars."
Paper Towns Review
Paper Towns Review Dream girl. By ... Paper Towns is the most enjoyable high school movie of 2015. Unlike say, Me and Earl and the Dying Girl, you can't feel the movie trying hard to make you ...
Paper Towns (2015)
Paper Towns: Directed by Jake Schreier. With Nat Wolff, Cara Delevingne, Austin Abrams, Justice Smith. After an all-night adventure, Quentin's lifelong crush, Margo, disappears, leaving behind clues that Quentin and his friends follow on the journey of a lifetime.
'Paper Towns' Review: An Improvement on 'The Fault in Our Stars'
Film Review: 'Paper Towns'. The second John Green adaptation in as many years is a less tearjerking, more affecting teen drama than 'The Fault in Our Stars.'. The title of " Paper Towns ...
Paper Towns (film)
Paper Towns is a 2015 American romantic comedy-drama film directed by Jake Schreier from a screenplay by Scott Neustadter and Michael H. Weber, based on the 2008 novel of the same name by John Green.The film stars Nat Wolff and Cara Delevingne, with Halston Sage, Austin Abrams, and Justice Smith in supporting roles. The story follows the search by Quentin "Q" Jacobsen (Wolff) for Margo Roth ...
Paper Towns
Paper Towns - Metacritic. 2015. PG-13. Twentieth Century Fox. 1 h 49 m. Summary Quentin Jacobsen has spent a lifetime loving the magnificently adventurous Margo Roth Spiegelman from afar. So when she cracks open a window and climbs back into his life—dressed like a ninja and summoning him for an ingenious campaign of revenge—he follows.
Review: 'Paper Towns' Tries to Fold Significance Into the Everyday
Paper Towns. Directed by Jake Schreier. Drama, Mystery, Romance. PG-13. 1h 49m. By Manohla Dargis. July 23, 2015. Teenage angst has been a lucrative movie racket for years, but what happens when ...
Paper Towns Finds Something Special Amid All of the Melodrama
The new John Green adaptation Paper Towns is a beautiful bait-and-switch. It starts off with our shy teenage hero Quentin (Nat Wolff) narrating how he came to meet his free-spirited next-door ...
Review: 'Paper Towns' unfolds into a solid high school movie
'Paper Towns,' from a John Green novel, unwraps a romance, mystery and road trip all in one good high school movie ... Movies. Review: 'Kingdom of the Planet of the Apes' monkeys with a ...
Paper Towns (2015)
Reviewed by: Dare Devil Kid (DDK) Rating: 3.4/5 stars "Paper Towns" isn't as deep or moving as it wants to be, yet it's still earnest, well-acted, and thoughtful enough to earn a place in the hearts of teen filmgoers of all ages while providing a breezy, light-hearted nostalgic trip for adult viewers.
Paper Towns Review
Paper Towns, his fourth novel, doesn't have the big emotional wallop of Fault but Jake Schreier's film still delivers an enjoyable, well played, if hardly earth shattering, young-adult adaptation.
Review: 'Paper Towns' is a teen charmer
Review: 'Paper Towns' is a teen charmer. Corrections & clarifications: An earlier version of this review misattributed a line from the movie to the character Ben. It was said by Radar. Boy meets ...
Paper Towns
Q's late night romp with Margo involves a variety of malicious actions, including breaking and entering, spray painting a wall, and spreading Nair hair removal on someone's eyebrows. Q convinces his friends to skip school with him, and he also takes his mom's van on a 1,200-mile trip without permission.
Paper Towns
Paper Towns (United States, 2015) July 24, 2015. A movie review by James Berardinelli. Paper Towns is the third coming-of-age story to reach screens during the summer of 2015, following in the wake of the vastly superior Me and Earl and the Dying Girl and Dope. Based on the novel by John Green, Paper Towns is an exercise in artifice.
Paper Towns Review
Alas, Paper Towns falls is somewhere in the middle of the teen film genre. Good, but not great. Like most "page to screen" adaptations, something gets lost along the way and Paper Towns has its fair share. Several subplots are omitted, certain minor characters are barely present, and a handful of particular scenes are rearranged, including ...
'Paper Towns' Movie Review
Wait, that's a good thing. None of the main characters die of cancer in Paper Towns and the script by Fault's Scott Neustadter and Michael H. Weber, of the ever-wonderful (500) Days of Summer ...
Paper Towns Movie, Review
The most uninspired YA movie in years. Unremarkable teens panic over non-problems in Paper Towns, a flatlined adaptation of a John Green YA novel that makes The Fault In Our Stars look like an Abbas Kiarostami masterpiece. Good teen movies are about recognition, assuring awkward adolescents that the freak-outs and crushing disappointments that define their pained existences are actually ...
Paper Towns Movie Review for Parents
Why is Paper Towns rated PG-13? The PG-13 rating is for some language, drinking, sexuality and partial nudity - all involving teens. Latest news about Paper Towns, starring Cara Delevingne, Nat Wolff, Halston Sage and directed by Jake Schreier.
Paper Towns (2015) Movie Review: To Fake Towns and Beyond!
Also, Read - Tallulah (2016): Women with Substance The characters in "Paper Towns" take time to evolve. For example, Quentin, played by Nat Wolff, seems weird and unlikable as the film begins, but once Margo (Cara Delevingne) goes off-screen and he seamlessly tries to follow this idea of her, that's when the film starts making sense.
Fly Me to the Moon movie review (2024)
"Fly Me to the Moon" lurches wildly from zippy, retro rom-com to cynical political satire to weighty, remorseful drama and back again. Tonally messy and overlong, director Greg Berlanti's film ultimately squanders the considerable charms of its A-list stars, Scarlett Johansson and Channing Tatum, who are individually appealing but have zero chemistry with each other.
What Is Project 2025, and Who Is Behind It?
Project 2025 is led by the Heritage Foundation. It does not directly come from Mr. Trump. But that's only part of the story. Portions of the plan were driven by people who were top advisers to ...

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Reviewed at Fox Studios, Century City, Calif., July 2, 2015. MPAA Rating: PG-13. Running time: 109 MIN.

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