Stars are chemistry-challenged in story of another sick teen and another doomed romance
Making an ailing-lover romance is a rite of passage for many young stars. Mandy Moore had “A Walk to Remember.” Shailene Woodley had “The Fault in Our Stars.” And let’s not forget the patient zero of these movies: the 1970 tearjerker “Love Story” starring a sickly Ali MacGraw.
These tales of doomed, innocent romance are wildly popular, drawing alternating swoons and tears from young audiences, and that’s why the genre persists, whether it’s sick teens from space (“The Space Between Us”) or sick teens in bubbles (“Everything, Everything”). Now wild child and former Disney star Bella Thorne gets in on the action with “Midnight Sun” with some help from Patrick Schwarzenegger (son of Arnold).
Directed by Scott Speer, “Midnight Sun” is the story of Katie, an 18-year old girl afflicted with xeroderma pigmentosum, or XP. That means she’s hypersensitive to the sun, and has been shut up inside for all of her young life lest she instantly break out in skin cancer or her brain “contract.” (Life with XP was also depicted by Brad Pitt in a 1988 film, “The Dark Side of the Sun,” which shares some significant story overlaps with “Midnight Sun.”)
Katie mostly lives a quiet life, with only her dad (Rob Riggle) and friend Morgan (Quinn Shepherd) for company, though she sometimes ventures out at night to play guitar and busk at the train station. She pines after Charlie (Schwarzenegger), who passes by her house every day, so she’s shocked when he approaches her at the station one night.
Thanks to help from Morgan, the two strike up a romance, getting to know each other at night. Katie claims she’s busy during the day and hesitates to tell Charlies about her condition because she wants to be just a girl, not a disease, for just a few days longer. This, of course, leads to trouble when a special date night turns into an all-night adventure. Will Katie make it home before sunrise?
The film has a ridiculous story line with a climax that will leave you scratching your head, but its biggest problem is Thorne’s lack of chemistry with Schwarzenegger. He’s handsome, tall and muscled, but there’s not an ounce of charisma to animate his good looks. Thorne, meanwhile, makes the very strange choice to deliver a broad comedic performance, making Katie bumbling and socially awkward (but gorgeous, of course). It’s the kind of over-the-top style native to the Disney sitcoms where she got her start, but it feels out of place in this syrupy melodrama.
‘Midnight Sun’
One star
out of four stars
Rated PG-13; teen partying and sensuality
1 hour, 31 minutes
