Accepting life's harsh realities with grace

WHEN dying young is a major part of the plot and one or more of the protagonists is afflicted with an incurable disease, it's a foregone conclusion that tears will be shed - both by characters on screen and young females in the audience. Despite the constraints of the young-adult genre, however, The Fault in Our Stars handles its chosen topic with minimum melodrama and considerable aplomb.

The film, directed by Josh Boone and based on the novel of the same name by John Green, is witty and touching without being too simplistic or overly sweet and sentimental. Written for the screen by Scott Neustadtler and Michael Weber, it shamelessly manipulates our emotions - the audience demands that it does - while showing a strong respect for its source material. For a change, the story is about ordinary people who have real concerns and real conversations - with nary a lovesick vampire or kick-ass girl warrior in sight.

In a previous era, a generation of young women was weaned on a three-handkerchief weepie called Love Story (1970), which was notable for having one of the corniest lines in movie history: "Love means never having to say you're sorry."