Some teen movies resonate with audiences because the characters are so painfully realistic, reflecting our own awkwardness and adolescent angst back at us. Other films, however, operate in a far more aspirational mode, where even the nerdy kids get a chance to date the cheerleader, and all the characters speak with the wit and wisdom of middle-aged screenwriters.
“Paper Towns,” an adaptation of a novel by “The Fault in Our Stars” author John Green, operates resolutely in the latter category, but it’s no less intriguing for its utter artificiality. Even if the smarmily sanctified and beautifully doomed male lead of “Fault” made you want to run screaming from the theater, you may find yourself on board with this movie’s road trip, particularly since it suggests that savvy, sexy and seemingly put-together teen characters might be nothing more than a Rorschach blot upon which others can project their own dreams and inadequacies.
The It Girl of “Paper Towns” is Margo Roth Spiegelman (Cara Delevingne of “Anna Karenina”), who entranced her across-the-street neighbor Quentin (Nat Wolff of “Palo Alto”) pretty much from the moment her family moved in a decade earlier. As children, the two explored their Orlando suburb on their bikes, until the day they found the body of a man who’d committed suicide. Late that night, Margo wanted to go to Sea World to investigate his life and learn why he’d killed himself, but the more reserved Quentin declined to join her.
Since then, Margo grew into a glittering wild child while Quentin hunkered down on his books and hung out with fellow nerds Ben (Austin Abrams of “The Kings of Summer”) and Radar (Justice Smith). The neighbors barely speak anymore, until toward the end of their senior year, when Margo gets Quentin to drive her around town on a late-night mission of vengeance against her boyfriend and best friend, who have been carrying on together behind Margo’s back.
For the normally cautious Quentin, the evening is a thrill ride, and Margo tells him that he should always feel his heart pounding the way it is when they’re together. The next day, Margo disappears (she’s run away so frequently that her parents don’t even go looking), and Quentin sets out to find her, following maps and other clues that she’s left behind. (“Paper towns,” incidentally, are fake cities used by mapmakers to catch others who might steal their work.) Once he’s figured out where she’s gone, Quentin sets off on a wild goose chase with Ben, Radar, Radar’s girlfriend, Angela (Jaz Sinclair), and Margo’s popular pal Lacey (Halston Sage of “Neighbors”).
As they make their way up the East Coast, lessons will be learned, attachments will be formed, the mysteries of Margo will be at least partially unraveled and Confederate flag T-shirts will accidentally be purchased. (This gag remains funny, but it has an extra layer of ouch given the events of the past month.)
The screenwriting team of Scott Neustadter and Michael H. Weber hew closer to their previous collaboration on “(500) Days of Summer” than their work on “The Fault in Our Stars,” and that’s a good thing. As slick and contrived as the plotting may be from time to time, the writers and director Jake Schreier (“Robot & Frank”) throw in enough charming character moments and literal forward motion (this is a road movie, after all) to avoid getting bogged down in whiny teen solipsism. You might not believe that any of these kids exist, but you’ll enjoy hanging out with them.
Schreier also makes the most of a gifted ensemble: Wolff, Abrams and Smith have a funny and unforced rapport, and Sage makes it easy to believe that her character is off to Dartmouth in the fall. Fashion model Delevingne has relatively little screen time but makes an undeniable impression as a high school heartbreaker, with the smoky eyes and smokier voice destined to send young men into a frenzy; there’s no question why Quentin would hijack his mom’s minivan and drive up I-95 to find her.
If you’re outside of the John Green demographic, your enjoyment of “Paper Towns” will rely upon your willingness to stomach certain contrivances, not to mention a soundtrack stuffed with the songs of today’s youth. (Composer Ryan Lott’s score can barely get a note in edgewise.) But even those adults who remained resolutely dry-eyed during “The Fault in Our Stars” might find themselves wanting to hop aboard for this journey, even if the seats are covered in Cheetos dust.
42 Summer Movies on Our Radar: From 'Avengers,' 'Jurassic World' to 'Magic Mike XXL' (Photos)
"Avengers: Age of Ultron" - May 1 The elite superhero team -- including Scarlett Johansson, Robert Downey Jr., Chris Hemsworth and Chris Evans -- assembles again in this follow up to the 2012 blockbuster.
Marvel/Disney
"Welcome to Me" - May 1 Kristen Wiig stars in this indie drama about a woman with borderline personality disorder who buys herself a cable access talk show after winning the lottery. Will Ferrell and Adam McKay produced.
Alchemy
"The D-Train" - May 8 Jack Black plays the head of his high school reunion committee who must convince the most popular guy in his class (James Marsden) to attend the reunion in this Sundance pic.
IFC
"Maggie" - May 8 Arnold Schwarzenegger stars in this indie as a father who stays with his daughter (Abigail Breslin) as she transforms into a zombie.
Roadside Attractions
"Hot Pursuit" - May 8 Reese Witherspoon and Sofia Vergara star in this buddy comedy about a straight-laced cop (Witherspoon) tasked with escorting a witness (Vergara) to her trial
Warner Bros
"The Connection" - May 15 Oscar-winner Jean Dujardin stars in this French crime thriller as a real-life policeman who dedicates his career to taking down a drug lord (Gilles Lellouche)
Relativity
"Mad Max: Fury Road" - May 15 Tom Hardy takes over the role that made Mel Gibson an international star in this reboot from the madcap mind of George Miller
Warner Bros.
"Pitch Perfect 2" - May 15 Anna Kendrick returns for the song-filled sequel to the 2012 musical smash hit.
Universal
"Poltergeist" - May 22 Sam Rockwell leads a remake of the 1982 horror classic that was originally written by Steven Spielberg.
Twentieth Century Fox
"Tomorrowland" - May 22 George Clooney and Britt Robertson star in a sci-fi fantasy about a man and woman who must discover the secrets of a strange land lost in time and space.
Disney
"Aloha" - May 29 Cameron Crowe directs Bradley Cooper and Emma Stone in a romantic comedy about a military contractor overseeing a satellite launch in Hawaii.
Columbia Pictures/Twentieth Century Fox
"San Andreas" - May 29
Dwayne Johnson stars in a disaster movie about a chopper pilot who must rescue his daughter (Alexandra Daddario) after a massive earthquake strikes California.
Warner Bros.
"Entourage" - June 5 Vince (Adrian Grenier) drives Ari (Jeremy Piven) up the wall when he decides to direct and star in his own movie in the big screen version of the HBO show.
HBO/Warner Bros.
"Spy" - June 5 Melissa McCarthy co-wrote and stars in a comedy about a CIA analyst who gets her chance to work in the field when an arms dealer (Rose Byrne) threatens to destabilize the world.
Twentieth Century Fox
"Insidious Chapter 3" - June 5 In this horror prequel, psychic Elise Rainier (Lin Shaye) agrees to help teenager (Stefanie Scott) who is being targeted by a supernatural force.
Blumhouse
"Jurassic World" - June 12 Chris Pratt and Bryce Dallas-Howard lead the latest installment in the Michael Crichton-inspired series. This time around, the park is terrorized by a genetically-engineered dinosaur that escapes its enclosure.
Legendary Pictures
"Me and Earl and The Dying Girl" - June 12 This 2015 Sundance Grand Jury winner follows an anti-social teen (Thomas Mann) who falls in love with a classmate (Olivia Cooke) who has leukemia.
Fox Searchlight
"Dope" - June 19 This Sundance breakout centers on a teen (Shameik Moore) trying to make his Ivy League dreams come true in his tough LA neighborhood.
Open Road Films
"Inside Out" - June 19 Pixar takes us inside the mind of a little girl as her emotions vie for control. Amy Poehler, Mindy Kaling and Bill Hader all lend their voices.
Disney/Pixar
"Ted 2" - June 26 Seth MacFarlane's foul-mouthed teddy bear returns in the sequel that finds Ted (voiced by MacFarlane) and John (Mark Wahlberg) fighting in court to prove that Ted is human.
Universal Pictures
"Batkid Begins" June 26 This feel-good documentary tells the story of a five-year-old leukemia patient who inspired people from all over the world to help him live out his dream of being Batman for a day.
Warner Bros
"Max" - June 26 A Marine-trained German shepherd is sent to live with the family of his former handler (Robbie Amell), who was killed in Afghanistan
Warner Bros
"Big Game" - June 26 A teenage-boy (Onni Tommila) rescues the President of the United States (Samuel L. Jackson) when Air Force One crash lands near his campsite.
EuropaCorp
"Magic Mike XXL" - July 1 Channing Tatum gyrates his way into this sequel as stripper "Magic" Mike who decides to attend an annual stripper conference in Myrtle Beach.
Warner Bros.
"Terminator: Genisys" - July 1 Arnold Schwarzenegger is back as the unstoppable android as he fights to protect Sarah Connor (Emilia Clarke) with the help of Kyle Reese (Jai Courtney).
Paramount
"Minions" - July 2 The Minions are back in this "Despicable Me" spinoff. This time, they are recruited by a super-villainess (Sandra Bullock) in her plot to take over the world.
Universal Pictures
"The Bronze" - July 10 "Big Bang Theory" star Melissa Rauch co-wrote and stars in this comedy about a former Olympic athlete clinging to her last shreds of fame.
Relativity
"Self/Less" - July 10 Ryan Reynolds stars in this thriller about a wealthy, dying man who pays to have his consciousness transferred into a younger body. When he begins to investigate where the body came from, he discovers a terrifying mystery
Focus Features
"Ant-Man" - July 17 Paul Rudd leads this Marvel comic adaptation about a con man who is given a device that can shrink him in scale by Dr. Hank Pym (Michael Douglas).
Marvel/Disney
"Trainwreck" - July 17 Amy Schumer and Bill Hader star in a Judd Apatow comedy about a magazine writer (Schumer) who refuses to commit, until her relationship with a doctor (Hader) challenges her notions of monogamy.
Universal Pictures
"Stanford Prison Experiment" - July 17 Based on the infamous 1971 psychological experiment, 24 male students volunteer to play prisoners or guards in a mock-prison, only for things to spiral completely out of control.
IFC
"Paper Towns" - July 24 Based on the novel by John Green, Nat Wolff plays a boy who convinces his friends to embark on a road trip to find the missing girl next door (Cara Delevingne).
Twentieth Century Fox
"Pixels" - July 24 Adam Sandler leads a team of gamers (Kevin James, Josh Gad, Peter Dinklage) who must fight aliens that invade Earth in the form of classic video games.
Columbia Pictures
"Southpaw" - July 24 Jake Gyllenhaal packed on the muscle for this drama about a troubled boxer fighting to regain custody of his daughter. Antoine Fuqua directed based on a script by Kurt Sutter.
The Weinstein Company
"Irrational Man" - July 24 Joaquin Phoenix and Emma Stone star in a Woody Allen film about a college philosophy professor (Phoenix) who enters into a relationship with his student (Stone).
Sony Classics
"Mission: Impossible - Rogue Nation" - July 31 Tom Cruise once again does the impossible as he leads his team against an international syndicate intent on destroying the Impossible Mission Force.
Paramount
"End of the Tour" - July 31 Jesse Eisenberg stars as Rolling Stone journalist David Lipsky as he conducts a series of interviews with author David Foster Wallace (Jason Segel). The film is based on Lipsky's book, "Although of Course You End Up Becoming Yourself."
A24
"Fantastic Four" - August 7 Miles Teller (Mr. Fantastic), Michael B. Jordan (Human Torch), Kate Mara (Invisible Girl), and Jamie Bell (The Thing) lead this comic adaptation about the superhero team that gained powers after an accident in space.
Twentieth Century Fox
"Masterminds" - August 7 Kristen Wiig, Jason Sudekis and Zach Galifianakis star in this heist comedy about a real 1997 armored car robbery in North Carolina
Relativity
"The Man From U.N.C.L.E." - August 14 Henry Cavill and Armie Hammer play an American and Russian agent forced to team up to stop an evil organization trying to steal nuclear weapons. The film is based on the 1964 TV series of the same name.
Warner Bros
"Straight Outta Compton" - August 14 O'Shea Jackson Jr., the son of Ice Cube, plays his father in this look at the impact of the revolutionary gangster rap group NWA.
Universal
"Hitman: Agent 47" - August 28 Rupert Friend stars in this video game adaptation about a genetically engineered assassin who teams up with a mysterious young woman to bring down an evil corporation.
Twentieth Century Fox
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TheWrap Summer Movie Preview 2015: ”Mission: Impossible 5,“ ”Entourage,“ ”Mad Max: Fury Road“ also among season’s big releases