Category: Romance

8.4

Ah, young love… and intrusive, obsessive thoughts.

All of the John Green Easter eggs… *chef’s kiss. I totally didn’t coordinate drinking a Dr. Pepper while I watched this.

“You’re old-new, it’s different” was the most adorable, heartfelt half insult I’ve heard in a long time. The thing that John Green movies do better than most is relatability. There’s a realness in the stories that is undeniable. This film is no exception. The magical ambiance of a small town Applebees double date is undefeated.

The philosophy wrestled with is something I haven’t had to confront in a hot minute, but is so approachable in the way that’s it’s handled. The return of the god-turtle mythology to the big screen was an unforeseen connection. I never thought anyone this side of Stephen King would touch that.

All this to say what we have here is a wonderfully weird, exceptionally human story that was put on the big screen with a tremendous amount of care.

Tell your friends you love them.

7.6

The tennis threesome movie… love triangle movie? A bit of both. Similar to “Snack Shack,” they let love get in the way of their craft. (Although, cards on the table, I liked “Snack Shack” way more.)

This one is far from a fairy tale love story, and includes some of the most creative camera work since “Madame Web.” It was more than I expected in some ways and less in others. More of a mixed bag than I anticipated. As expected, the three leads really knock is out of the court with their respective performances, and the tension is at an 11 the entire runtime. It was really a masterclass in holding your foot to the floor in a genre that isn’t notorious for that kind of narrative structure.