Sappy teen love stories can be entertaining in done right. Everything, Everything definitely looked like it could be extremely sappy from the trailers. Luckily, the film does a good job balancing the sap with imagination and solid film making. The casting of the film is solid with both Amandla Stenberg and Nick Robinson giving very good performances.
Everything, Everything is todays Girl in the bubble movie…
Maddy Whittier (Stenberg) has just turned 18 and has never left her house. She suffers from Severe Combined Immunodeficiency or SCIDs and has to stay in her controlled environment so she doesn’t get sick. It’s always been her and her mother (Anika Noni Rose) until Olly (Robinson) moves in next door. The two form a connection virtually that can’t be kept apart by the walls of her home.
The premise of this film, an adaptation of the book written by Nicola Yoon, could make for some extremely boring visuals. Two teenagers texting to each other back and forth while looking longingly out the window towards one another. Yet, Maddy has quite the imagination and is also studying architecture online and those two things combine to give us some interestingly surreal conversations inside her head. It is a cool visual device that is used a few times to help make those scenes more engaging.
The conversations with the characters are a big part of the story as even when they’re in her imagination they are speaking. Stenberg has a bright future and does a terrific job being awkward and doting. She delivers a really great performance that shows if given a stronger she can really shine. Robinson has been great in the Kings of Summer and Jurassic World and gives another solid performance. The two have strong chemistry and it makes the movie enjoyable.
Final Thoughts…
Ultimately, this film is a rehash of similar stories like Bubble Boy (2001) or The Boy in the Plastic Bubble (1976). It does offer some great performances, but a fairly predictable plot. In fact, including a detail from the first act in this review (which was omitted instead) would likely spoil the ending. Nevertheless, Everything, Everything earns the Decent Watch rating.
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