★★★★★

I suspected this would be a chick flick, but, I really like the actress (Shailene Woodley) in it and the movie theme song drew me in. The writer in me loved the hermit writer with a bad attitude and the woman who lives with him. It was never really clear if she was his wife, girlfriend, or just his girl Friday. She was a treasure though. Her mission in life was to sledgehammer a touch of humanity into this hermit. And with these two teenagers she found a way to do it.

One thing I’ve not heard said about Shailene Woodley which should be said is her “every girl” quality. People used to talk about Jimmy Stewart having an “every man” quality about him. Once the studios figured that out and started writing roles for an “every man” he became highly bankable. Shailene has an “every girl” quality about her which really shines through in this movie. It also explains, in part, why the Divergent franchise didn’t take off. It is no fault of her acting ability, just that the “every girl” quality which makes her shine in human roles, doesn’t play well in a science fiction shoot-em-up.

Every writer should watch this movie as a warning of what you can become.

The sarcastic lines and rampant humor make this a chick flick even guys can enjoy, which in and of itself is a massive achievement.

I could try to cover the story line here, but, that would give too much of the best part of the plot away. What I can say that won’t give too much away was how amazing it was to see mom take her daughter and the daughter’s boyfriend to Paris, buy her a pretty dress and send her out on a date so that she might know both love and romance one time before the ticking time bomb went off.

Most women, well the younger ones anyway, tend to focus on the romance between the two. To me the bigger stories were the mom and the hermit writer. It was a striking split from traditional “mom values” pushed at the audience. She violated what could be considered every social norm so her teenage daughter could know love completely. Having come in contact with that love the hermit imperceptibly mellowed.

For more movie rental ideas please see list one and list two.