This is an extremely good film because of the different views it takes on how to deal with different aspects of life, for example love, divorce, parents divorce, drugs, careers, etc. It looks mainly at love but it has many different views on it. The first is that unrequited love, or the love that is given but not gotten back, the painful awkward love between Bill (Greg Kinnear) the father and Erica (Jennifer Connelly) the mother. Then there is the young love between Rusty (Nat Wolff) and Kate (Liana Liberato), or the true pure love of something new and strong. Then there is the confusing twisted love between Sam (Lily Collins) and Louis (Logan Lerman). This is probably the most confusing because at first Sam doesn't want anything to do with Lou but he is slightly obsessed with her and with that he is able to break her out of her demonic state of "love is hateful and evil". Sam's views on love are taken from her parents nasty divorce and her mother cheating on her father. She views love as being cruel and punishing but then finds Lou who changes her views a complete 180. The switching between the different views on different topics is very successful in engaging the viewer. Another reason this film is so good is because of the way the characters change through out the film and the way the relationships between characters change. The first to change with the biggest change in the film was Sam who changed perspectives on love completely and also very drastically. This change occurs almost too rapidly because one minute she hates love and wants nothing to do with it then the next she is crying in a car, from the fear of being in love, with a boy that obviously fell in love with her at first sight. Next is the change in Kate who struggles with a drug problem but gets much better then takes a terrible turn for the worst when she has a near death experience from a drug overdose. But at the end she is in rehab writing to Rusty about how much better she is doing, so we can assume that by the end of it she overcomes her problem. Another character to change is Erica who switches between being in love with Bill and not. I say "being in love with" but throughout the film i think she is always in love with him she just changes how much back and forth throughout the film. These changes are also a very successful way to keep the audiences attention and entertained throughout. I personally also like the real life situations that all of the characters face through the film and the different ways of coping that they take. Like the difference in the very common problem of a parents divorce, and the different ways that Rusty and Sam handle it. Rusty stays in the middle and for the most part without taking sides while Sam chooses her father, Bill's side and for the majority of the film chooses to have absolutely no relationship with her mother, Erica. Another big problem is drugs. Weed through out the film is there but it isn't exactly a problem for anyone. Kate struggles the most with drugs through the film (mostly cocaine from what we can gather) to the point of almost dying from an overdose. These struggles and more are very relatable to just about anyone watching the film therefor this is another successful way to hold the attention of the audience.

This is my absolute favorite movie. It has some hard parts, but above all it's a love story. I love the trials that the characters face; they seem realistic, and the acting is amazing. I especially enjoy the writing aspect that the characters thrive in; family hobbies are great, and it's the passion that the characters have that really sell the movie. Without the actors, the movie wouldn't be nearly as good, but anything that can be made great with good actors is already good on its own. 10/10 would recommend. ------------------------------------------------------ --------------------------

I imagine those were the words the director used to describe what kind of movie he wanted to make to his producers.I know this is a film for teenagers, but the problem is its just so annoying.The story centres on the lives of one white middle class American family and their first world problems in a rose tinted two dimensional universe. It claims to be a coming of age story, based on love, but in reality its a slightly histrionic adolescent fantasy. Which is actually a regular formula for this director, in fact I may just as well cut and paste this review onto everything else he's done and probably will do (tho I think this is where I get off). As a film for teenagers it is OK, and I can look past most of the crap. Sometimes its actually funny, but rarely. What really annoyed me however was that the film pretends, and what's worse may even actually believe, that it has some depth of meaning, and that is nothing short of delusional.Luckily though Boone manages to secure some pretty good actors so the performances are convincing (although the script is not), and his technical ability to actually film is fine, though certainly not interesting. Now, if I've taken anything from this films pseudo morals and all those charming good looking kids with their fashionable heartbreak and Hollywood smiles, besides irritation, its that you gotta end on a positive note cos life is about living and loving right? So here goes...this movie sucks!

Somehow this little film caught my attention unassumingly. This lukewarm kind of film is usually likable. I didn't need to drag myself into emotional ambivalence to understand and actually enjoyed it. Sometimes we need light fares to balance our overly stimulated appetites. Marriage used to be sacred and unadulterated not very long ago. As a matter of fact, that kind of concept still pretty much exists in our parent's generation. We now have this carnal desire and emotional attachment separation anxiety to define it. I still incline to treat it as a legal status so we no longer confuse oranges with apples. There is really a blurred line between the physical and spiritual attraction. This movie manifested the disparity among a group of attractive people which is too convenient to persuade audience. The obfuscation might be a better approach.Overall, it had some witty dialogue and also a nicely playing out storyline. It suited my leisure at least.