The Fault in Our Stars

"The fault, dear Brutus, is not in our stars, but in ourselves, that we underlings."- Julius Caesar

My curiosity was triggered by all the tweets I am reading from twitter and status from Facebook that really made a resounding remarks when #tfioscountdown become trending worldwide. To my surprise, the #tfios is an acronym to a book written by the very impressive and realistic man of his own, John Green, entitled The Fault in Our Stars. And yes, I must admit it that I downloaded the pdf version of the book on my wattpad and read the story for about a day. Well, as many other teen agers like me and even young adults and adults by heart, I was also hooked and gone infatuated badly with the love story of Hazel Grace and Augustus.

By the time I got to know about the movie adaptation of The Fault in Our Stars, I’ve decided to ruffle myself reading first the book before cavorting myself to the cinema house. I believe not only for me but for many who have read any books and made a movie adaptation to a film, we have our set of expectations before going to the cinema house. Okay, let’s admit it that script writers, directors and movie staffs of the film always made a u-turn and a twist to the story having some changes or if I may say very minimal one for a fresher and newfangled version on a flesh projected over a hundred plus inches screen for our own entertainment or maybe disgust. True to my expectations for TFIOS, there are some notes on the side of the story on the book that was not included and was changed with the film adaptation. Nevertheless, my One Hundred Seventy Pesos (P170) ticket price was justified and the ultimate goal of the movie and the book to make anybody who is such spirited person of his/her soul must shed tears and make you weep until your persona goes on a different dimension of the third world sense because your face is already blotchy and you’re not you anymore when you look at the mirror.

Let’s start this by the words of Augustus to Hazel Grace, “Perhaps our okay will be our always.” This very line is so sweet that it immortalizes so much the scrupulous love of a one-leg, seventeen years old former basketball player Augustus Water or Gus to the very charming and highly spirited Hazel Grace Lancaster who prefers to think of many shits rather than utilizing so much of his energy to her thyroid cancer that shifts to her lungs. Their teeny-weeny love story all happen on a Support Group at the Episcopal Church with members of the same condition as Hazel and Gus (cancer) has at the very heart of Jesus as in the literal pictographic representation of Sacred Heart of Jesus were they form in circle and share others thoughts and experiences about their condition. The Support Group was led by Patrick who was a cancer survivor and was trying to promote so much positivity and sanguineness to everybody from the group. This part of the story from both movie and book reveals my love to the character of Hazel Grace who refuses to talk and think of her cancer story for her own pity and commiseration from others. For her, it’s a shit if we will not face the actuality that depression is a side effect of dying. Good thing that there is a lever on the middle that balances everything with regards to the introspection of Hazel because of her very encouraging parents who insists her to go on Support Group every Wednesday and support her all the way she undertake.

To give justice on how Hazel and Gus codified their ‘okay’, it was inspired to the ‘always’ of Augustus’ friend Isaac who was so much besotted to her girlfriend Monica to the extent of exhibiting to the next level of what teen’s called public display of affection. Their ‘okay’ sounds weird but the moment I heard it from them, it’s a shameless declaration that I get moonstruck over them also.

And yes, girls plus me wanted to shout for joy and trembled around the cinema house when the very handsome Augustus Water played by Ansel Elgort come to life as the modern knight with well verse of manners and a man of his own words all packed of chivalry that is about to pissed-off Hazel Grace played by Shailene Woodley because of the unlighted cigarette over his kissable lips plus the killer grin that Hazel, me and the girls is about to curse and pray him to be the man we aspire in our dreams (HAHAHA).  Nonetheless, the very self- depicted Augustus Water get the stoic heart of Hazel Grace with the straight forwarded eyes without making a blink then suddenly wink for a strike of second plus the killer grin that made a start to their love story.

All throughout the book, the green tank Hazel carries with her whenever she go that is something like support system to her breathing mechanism was never highlighted or even mention on the film adaptation wherein she actually baptized the tank as Philip. Another thing that was not depicted on the film adaptation was about Hazel’s friend named Kaitlyn who has a very different kind of accent and high regards to the maturity of life plus the sophistication and the fashion elite impounded over her own personality. I was also expecting to see from the film whenever Hazel is in front of the television watching a very specific show which was also symbolically depicted in the book. It was America’s Next Top Model and was acronym as ANTM used on the book. This becomes the point of stress reliever for Mrs. Lancaster and also for Hazel.

Scenes like the time when Isaac was operated in the hospital with regards to his eye cancer was not shown also plus the mother of Isaac supporting him whenever he go at his pleasure. There is a great leap or forward of the story having Isaac operated already wearing his Ray Ban shades that made me loved him also (HAHAHA) and get emphasized more on the heart broken problem to Monica.

In the midst of Isaac’s mourning because of his heart broken experience, of course a shoulder to lean on was there in the figure of Augustus and Hazel. It is funny that Augustus’ basketball trophies that he earned and collected over the years as another thing to be thankful of what they called cancer perk aside from the drivers license he got after four trials (I guess) was given with hundred percent permission to be broken down into pieces in exchange to the pillow that Isaac was making a shot out to the feeling he has, Augustus kidding aside said: “Pillows don’t break.”

There was also a slight change when they plan to retaliate over Monica by throwing eggs over her car. Asking Hazel, “Do you have $5?” by Augustus they bought two dozens of eggs and Isaac acts like angry bird over the Monica’s car. In the movie, Hazel went out of the car and enjoy joining the two best friend buddies making bad things into a therapeutically acts on their own amusement. Consequently on the book, Hazel is afraid of vandalism sop she prefers to stay at the car and wait for the two boys after making such evil acts at their pleasure.

The part when Mrs. Lancaster vividly informing Hazel what day it is as a celebration to her pre- birthday (if im correct) was not enacted in the movie also. This I guess was the part when Hazel contact Kaitlyn and hangover for a long time no see buddy. The airport scenes were Augustus was running out of breath with his bag of sandwich with him ready to go on board was not adopted also in the movie.

I know I still miss something based on the book and on the adopted movie…so help me to recall it!

Actually it was in the latter part that script writers of the movie really made a u- turn and change to some part in comparison to the book. Nevertheless, they made a well versification on the concluding part of the movie and did not get a long way out of the story line and to its ultimate purpose to sniffle and choke up with tears running down over the buccal as a test of how humane we are: D.

Peter Van Houten must not be lost in every review of the book and the movie. This is the man that reveals the ultimate conflict in the story aside from the cancer that came out of character because of the so-loved book of Hazel Grace authored by Peter Van Houten entitled An Imperial Affliction and was recommended to Augustus that in return made them both infatuated and hooked over the book. They have the same question hanging in their mind about what happen to the ending of the book aside from knowing that Anna, the main character who has cancer and died in a while. To answer their entire questions, they flew over to see Houten at Amsterdam not knowing that it is such a fiasco to go there and meet this old, pathetic and alcoholic man lecturing them of what is in the book as totally fictional from what is the reality. The allegorical creation to the character of Peter Van Houten was totally virtuoso for it pave the way to understand a lot of baffle upon the death of Augustus Water (Yes, sad to say he died.) who left something for Hazel to hold on until her Last Good Day (you know Last Good Day if you've read or watched the movie).

Yes, let us consider The Fault in Our Stars as a tragic love story of modern era that is far from many stories nowadays. Like what Peter Van Houten state in his book: “Pain demands to be feel”, he is true to his claim as we leave the cinema house and finishing reading the book. For sure, many readers and movie goers was inclined for endearment towards the story of the movie but still others don’t like the ending of the story. Actually when I am looking for the book to download, somebody from wattpad revise the story into a happy ending simply because it is on their sagacious mind that all good things must come into a happy ending also. I admit that it somewhat moved me and influence me also to assert only the reality and nothing but the truth to give a more credible essential meaning to the life I have now. The persona Hazel, Augustus, Isaac and both their parents made a very loud hello world, hello reality over our reasoning’s of maturity, admiration, equilibrium and grief to what the circle called LIFE. This story as vehemently first introduced to us by the author as a total product of mind, really creates swooning news all throughout the globe that I must say and admit that it is irresistible at its state of perfection. This is a stuff that you shouldn't miss because you don’t know what you are missing!

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