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Introverted high school senior Quentin, who has been in love with his cute neighbor, Margo, for years, is unexpectedly taken on a night of wild adventure with his lifelong crush, who then mysteriously disappears the next day. Q follows clues left behind by Margo with his friends as to Margo's possible whereabouts, leading to a road trip and new friendships and relationships. It's a likable teen comedy/drama about young folks discovering themselves, where it's about the journey and not the destination. However, PAPER TOWNS is not as funny or as touching as it thinks it is. Cara Delevingne steals the film as the unpredictable wild child Margo. Although she does not have as much screen time as the other characters, she lives up to her character's larger-than-life persona, and you cannot deny Delevingne's star power. Looking at her filmography, I'm kind of disappointed she hasn't gone on to do anything that is all that notable. She's been in some big films, like the first SUICIDE SQUAD (the bad one and not the good one) and Luc Besson's disappointing VALERIAN, but nothing else of note. With the right project, she should be a star. Halston Sage also makes an impression as Margo's best friend who tags along on the road trip, but the other kids on the road trip never rise above teen movie stereotypes. Although PAPER TOWNS has its moments, it's a far cry compared to the far superior coming-of-age films, such as PERKS OF BEING A WALLFLOWER or SING STREET, which you should immediately watch if you haven't seen either.

Outside of BASIC INSTINCT, this is probably the best of the spate of trashy 90s erotic thrillers. Okay, okay, BOUND and THE LAST SEDUCTION are way better, but they both subvert the genre, whereas SINGLE WHITE FEMALE and BASIC INTINCT are pure, unironic examples of it. It's also worth noting that Brian DePalma had been making these sorts of thrillers since the 70s, with SISTERS, DRESSED TO KILL, and BODY DOUBLE. In this film, 90s business gal Bridget Fonda takes in roommate Jennifer Jason Leigh after breaking up with her cheating boyfriend, Steven Weber. Jason Leigh then becomes obsessed with Fonda to bonkers extremes. Her obsession reaches heights that border on parody, but I'm pretty sure the filmmakers and actors thought they were making a sexy Hitchcockian thriller. Directed by Barbet Schroeder, who made the sharp-witted REVERSAL OF FORTUNE, the darkly funny biopic of Charles Bukowski BARFLY, the underrated and somewhat forgotten crime thriller KISS OF DEATH, as well as a series of fine French films before moving to Hollywood, SINGLE WHITE FEMALE does stretch credulity and reaches some new heights of ridiculousness, but the Fonda and Jason Leigh (both spotting very odd wigs) are fantastic and fully commit to their bonkers roles. Schroeder treats the tawdry material as if it were REPULSION or DON'T LOOK NOW. Throw in the great character actor Stephen Tobolowsky as a creepy sexually harassing boss, who strangely (SPOILER ALERT!) gets a hero-turn in the film's climax between the warring roommates, a fine score by the consistently excellent Howard Shore (THE FLY, LORD OF THE RINGS), and fantastic photography from Italian cinematographer Luciano Tovoli, who's worked with the likes of Michelangelo Antonioni, Andrei Tarkovsky, and Dario Argento, how could you not love this trashy delight? FUN FACT! Jennifer Jason Leigh and Bridget Fonda's fathers, Vic Morrow and Peter Fonda, respectively, play adversaries in DIRTY MARY CRAZY LARRY.