Midnight Sun is an overwrought and contrived weepy teen dramedy that becomes cumbersome and cliché-ridden within the first ten minutes.
The YA fluff tale centres on 17-year-old Katie (Bella Thorne) who suffers from xeroderma pigmentosum (XP), a rare skin disease that makes her allergic to the sun and forces her to be home-schooled by her over-protective father (Rob Riggle). Light comes into our lead's life when genetically gifted teen (Patrick Schwarzenegger) finally responds to her longing stares from her bedroom window. You already know where this is heading...
Midnight Sun tries too hard to shield the audience from the tough subject matter and only skims the surface of the illness, which affects one in a million people in the United States.
The movie, which is based on the 2006 Japanese film of the same name, aspires to be a Nicholas Sparks-esque romantic drama but becomes another eye-rolling, by-the-numbers affair.
The schmaltzy narrative removes viewers from having true empathy for both characters and it completely loses plausibility in the final act.
Director Scott Speer (Step Up Revolution) will be hard-pressed to find teens naive enough to buy into his profoundly silly drama over the Easter holidays.
Midnight Sun will scorch your brain cells and have you running frantically in search of the shade. You have been warned!
