Incredibly, ridiculously late, I know, but I felt like I couldn’t post anything until I’ve listened to the full soundtrack (it’s up on Spotify).

Anywho, touted as this month’s The Fault In Our Stars, most previews warn to bring your own tissues.  I’m probably the world’s biggest crybaby out there, so watching R. J. Cutler (The Ordained)’s If I Stay probably is not be the best idea.

Here’s the round-up.

Please note that there may be spoilers.  Read at your own risk.

THE STORY:

Just like most teenagers, Mia Hall (Chloe Grace Moretz – Carrie) feels a little bit out of place in her family.  With former-rock-star-turned-teacher for a Dad Denny (Joshua Leonard – The Blair Witch Project), former-groupie-turned-full-time-housewife-and-Mom-extraordinaire for a Mom Kat (Mireille Enos – World War Z) and a hyperactive little brother Teddy (Jakob Davies), she feels like she, along with her “goody two shoes” sensibilities and her love for classical music, don’t belong.  Indeed, it seems like her ex-boyfriend Adam (Jamie Blackley – Snow White and the Huntsman) or her sarcastic bestfriend Kim (Liana Liberato – Trust) would be a better fit.  Her parents are more than supportive of her passions, however, even encouraging her to apply for a prestigious spot at Juliard and then attempting to distract her from the pains of waiting for the acceptance/rejection letter by driving up to Gramps’ (Stacy Keach – Sin City: A Dame to Kill For) and Gran’s (Gabrielle Rose – Jennifer’s Body).

During the drive up to the farm, however, their car skids and crashes and the next thing Mia knows, she is standing outside of her body, torn between staying and fighting in this world or moving onto the afterlife.

THE GOOD:

1. Chloe Grace Moretz.  This movie would have been unbearable had it not been for this girl.  Any other girl in the lead and Mia would be hateful to watch, gorgeous outfits be damned.  Also, it was very refreshing to hear her talk in a normal voice, instead of the low growl that she favored a couple of years ago.
2. Jamie Blackley.  He provided an easy charm to Adam that made it easy to swallow all the bitching and whining.  Also, he sang those songs live.  How cool is that?  Did I mention that he was British?  My mind exploded when I heard him speak in his natural accent.
3. Joshua Leonard and Mireille Enos were totally believable as parents.  Way too cool to exist in real life, but they conveyed the parental love with enough genuineness.  I also appreciated the different yet period appropriate make up and hairstyles.
4. Stacy Keach had one golden moment in this movie when he was looking after Mia in the hospital.  That was the only scene in the entire movie to make me cry.
5. The Soundtrack has some really great songs on it and the music really resonated while it was being played in the movie.  Hearing it on it’s own, however, it wasn’t as powerful, weirdly enough.

THE BAD:

1. Mia as a character.  Again, had this role been given to somebody else, she would’ve come across as bratty.  She’s beautiful, talented as hell, has great, loving parents who trust her enough to let her go out with an older musician boyfriend who absolutely adores her, but she still has insecurities about herself enough to rival Bella from Twilight.
2. Adam as a character.  He’s the older more popular rockstar who goes on tour to far flung cities who decide to stay loyal to his underaged high school girlfriend.  How is he real?
3. They changed a lot from the book.  I’m only guessing, but basing on the reaction of the girls seated behind me who all went “what?!”, “no!” and “that’s bullshit!” as soon as the screen faded to black, I assume the film makers changed the ending.

THE UGLY:

1. There was no real tension.  From the get go it was obvious what Mia would choose to do.  I wish they pulled a little bit at the story when it was revealed that Teddy was gone and that Gramps was giving her the ultimate go signal, just to make things more interesting, you know?
2. That ultimately, it was all about the boy.  Ugh, talk about Twilight sensibilities.  Did the huge crowd in the cramped hospital lobby waiting for Mia to wake up have any effect whatsoever in her decision?  Not a god damned lick.  She’s doing it for the boy in her life, who, granted, is too good to be true, but what kind of value is that???

All in all If I Stay was one of those movies that was too reliant on its lead.  Fortunately, Chloe Grace Moretz can deliver and can make an entire movie about a girl who can’t decide on anything even if her life depended on it (literally) bearable to watch.  There were strong performances from the supporting cast as well, but the characters just are too good to be realistic.  In the end, not even strong actors can salvage a story that has too much in common with Twilight.

THE VERDICT: 6/10.  Meh.

*All photos are lifted from the film’s IMDB page.