Midnight Sun
Dustin Chase
No this isn’t a romance movie set in Alaska during the summer months where the sun never sets, that would be far too interesting and unique. Midnight Sun borrows the concept of another teen drama Everything, Everything, about a young girl with a rare disease that forces her to always stay inside. That combined with the bare bones premise of The Fault in Our Stars and you get a very hollow love story that doesn’t have the ambition or the talent to match the movies it’s emulating. Bella Thorne (Alvin and the Chipmunks: The Road Chip), a social media star and Patrick Schwarzenegger (son of Arnold), lack the talent or conviction Shailene Woodley or Ansel Elgort emitted in ‘Fault’. The producers intentionally place the story in Washington like fellow love stories Fifty Shades of Grey and Twilight.
Since birth Katie way diagnosed with Xeroderma pigmentosum (XP) a rare disease that prevents any exposure to sunlight. She has spent her childhood indoors with nurturing single father (Jack). “Every day with Katie is a gift,” he explains. For years Katie has watched Charlie (Schwarzenegger) skateboarding to school outside her window, but a chance meeting late at night while strumming her guitar, brings her face to face with the life-long crush. They begin a whirlwind romance, but only seeing each other at night, until Katie loses track of time, and stays out too late. Her secret is exposed, health endangered, all to be with the boy of her dreams.
Midnight Sun is exactly what you would expect from the director of “Ashley Tisdale: He Said She Said” and Step Up Revolution.
I could pick apart this movie because it’s so loose with its facts and structure, but at the same time, Midnight Sun has acutely aimed itself for young teen girls who could care less about realistic relatability or character depth. Examples would be, (A.) why would a father wait until his daughter is 17-years-old to pass down her mother’s precious guitar, even though he admits his daughter has a limited life span, knowing how much she loves playing music. (B.) Katie admits she has never been anywhere outside of their little town, but all of a sudden now that she has a boyfriend she can travel in the tinted-window family van and a hoodie. (C.) Charlie can’t figure out how he’s never met Katie before, despite living on the same street, and we are supposed to believe that no one in the entire town would know or talk about her having a rare disease, even though the preface includes young children making fun of her.
The script is written so the characters talk in clichés, saying the same things you hear in every teen romance. Every scenario is predictable, midnight swimming, cuddling by the fire, geeky boy getting the girl, weird best friend, it all unfolds in such a way where nothing comes as a surprise. Comedian Rob Riggle (21 Jump Street) is also ridiculously miscast as the endearing father. There isn’t an ounce of originality to this film that begs a cynical viewer to poke fun at it, honestly, it’s the only way to endure from beginning to end. Midnight Sun is exactly what you would expect from the director of “Ashley Tisdale: He Said She Said” and Step Up Revolution.
Final Thought
There are Instagram stories with more depth and nuance than Midnight Sun offers.