MIDNIGHT SUN REVIEWED
“Midnight Sun” is the American teen flick remake of a 2006 Japanese film. Did I hunt down the original film after watching this one? You bet your Internet-addicted ass that I did. After going over my notes, I was kinda taken aback by something. Neither film registered with me. Seeing as how I’m not a teenage girl or Nicholas Sparks, this shouldn’t be surprising. Also, the lead lady is Bella Thorne? The site trolls had me believe she was a Gen Z mess.
Thorne cleans up quite well as the sun-fearing hot as hell redhead. She’s also quite a better actor than Arnold Schwarzenegger’s non-maid spawn. Rob Riggle plays the dad role and he works decent enough for a mildly dramatic role. However, this is a mopey teen flick that uses a rare disease to make sense of a complicated romance. Bella Thorne gets to do the usual teen romance stuff at night. She gets to be pretty, play guitar and win over her fellow teens. Plus, she gets a manic pixie boy to float her fragile ego for 90 minutes.
At points, the American remake is quite comparable to its Asian counterpart. However, this one almost turns Rob Riggle into a doofus at times to empower Bella Thorne. We get that she wants to be more than her disease. It’s just that Midnight Sun succeeds when it’s a film about loving beating all maladies. I guess that coming out in the wake of “Fault in Our Stars” weakens it a bit. Still, I’d recommend checking it out.
FILM STATS
- 1 hr and 31 mins
- PG-13
- Open Road Films
RELEASE DATE: 3/23/18