Watch This: THE FAULT IN OUR STARS
I have to come at this post from a few different angles. Well, two angles. One as a straight review – I got a chance to see the film while I was in Seattle. The other is as a former Indianpolis-ite (?), specifically one who worked the city’s film scene for 8 years. With that in mind, I’m not exactly sure where to start this write-up, so let’s start at the least-complicated point of entry: a quick review of the film. But wait. No. That doesn’t quite work, because you need some back story on the film and its production before I get to that. OK, we’ll start there.
The Indie’s Oscars
The day before the Oscars, there’s a party in Santa Monica that’s more “smart chic” than “custom couture,” more “new kid in town” than “living legend,” more “vote of the people” than “who votes for these again?” It’s the Spirit Awards, and over the last several years it’s become the indie Oscars, even as the films recognized are less and less truly independent films (case in point: several films are nominated for both Spirit Awards and Oscars.). Dress code is decidedly relaxed; hosts are the likes of Andy Samberg and, this year, Patton Oswalt; and far as I know, though it is televised, there’s no orchestra kicking winners off stage…
